Stories Never Told
by EbonyVergil
Summary: Some of the adventures of the Titans that have never been documented...until now. First story shows what happened after the end of the episode 'Betrayal' and how Beastboy took one step closer in learning to co-exist with Raven. Final chapter of the 2nd story is up.
1. Coping with betrayal 1

**A/N: Welcome! This is slightly different than my previous two works. It'll focus on some 'What-if' scenarios. I've always been curious as to what goes on in certain episodes after they had ended, like 'Betrayal' and how Beastboy got out of his funk. While I'll do my best to keep everyone in character I might take a few liberties, just warning ya!**

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_In an abandoned theme park many miles away from Jump City, history was being made for a certain group of teenage superheroes, but not a history they would look upon fondly. For it was on this night that they were betrayed by one of their own, to one of their greatest enemies. Four of the five Titans would be shocked and angry about their newest members traitorous ways. The fifth, the one covered from head to toe in green and who called himself Beastboy, would have his heart broken._

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The night started out so well for Beastboy and his date, Terra, the sixth and newest member of the Teen Titans. They weren't superheroes that night, they were just a pair of fifteen year old teenagers enjoying each other's company. That all changed when the pair was attacked by Slade.

At first, the changeling battled Slade with everything he had. He was doing it to protect Terra, his friend, possible girlfriend and someone he cared deeply for. But then he learned the truth, that she had set up his friends and fellow Titans to be slaughtered by Slade's robots.

The green Titan continued to fight, battling Slade in a house of mirrors while Terra watched on, paralyzed by her inner conflict. However, his heart was heavy and his spirit was broken. The girl he had had a crush on for a while now was actually his enemy. This thought hung over him like a heavy cloak, making his limbs feel heavier and his brain feel numb. All he could think to do was to continue the battle with Slade.

Sharp pain stabbed into Beastboy's lower back as Slade kicked him into one of the broken mirrors. The changeling clenched his teeth tight to keep from crying out in pain. Slade was relentless and rushed towards the green Titan, rearing his right hand back in preparation to smash him in the face with his fist.

Beastboy reacted quickly, morphing into a kangaroo and kicking out with his feet before Slade could strike. He ended up smashing his feet into Slade's sternum, knocking the villain across the room and into a mirror at the opposite end. Shards of glass scattered from the point of impact, some of them getting stuck in Slade's torn costume.

Throughout all this a distraught Terra could only watch on helplessly. Her head was cradled in her hands as she desperately tried to decide what to do. She should help Beastboy right? He was so kind and funny and made her feel great about herself. But what about Slade? He taught her how to control her powers, he mentored her, saved her from a path that surely would have meant her destruction. So didn't that mean she owed him?

Her thoughts were interrupted when both Slade and Beastboy disentangled themselves from the pane's of broken mirrors they were both stuck in. The two combatants then proceeded to charge at each other, Beastboy morphing into a bull halfway through his charge. With impressive reflexes, Slade reached out with both hands, gripping both of the green bull's horns and remarkably halting it's charge.

The masked villain had no time to pat himself on the back however as the bull quickly morphed back into the familiar form of Beastboy, leaving Slade gripping nothing but air. The changeling took advantage of catching him by surprise, nimbly maneuvering between Slade's arms. The green Titan reached out, grabbing Slade's right wrist with his left hand and the masked menace's left wrist with his right. Gripping tightly, Beastboy brought both of his feet off the ground and planted them firmly in Slade's face.

The villain grunted in pain, falling onto his back and skidding across the ground ten meters away. The emerald Titan immediately moved to capitalize, leaping into the air, morphing into an ape and bringing both of his fists down onto Slade's fallen form. Unfortunately before his fists made contact, Slade tucked his legs in and leaned his weight onto his shoulders. The one-eyed villain then pushed off the ground with his hands while kicking into the air with his feet. The move allowed him to defy gravity and pulled him into the air, Slade immediately performed a backwards somersault and landed on a wall.

Bending his knees, the one-eyed villain suddenly sprang forward, ramming his right shoulder into the green ape's chest and tackling it to the ground. They tumbled across the floor, each trying to get an advantageous position. In the end, Slade managed to get on top of the green ape. Clutching the ape's throat with his left hand, Slade brought his right fist back to deliver the finishing blow.

Beastboy quickly morphed from an ape to a giant green snake, wrapping around Slade's waist and pinning his left arm to his side. The green snake positioned it's head behind the masked villain's left shoulder, it bared it's fangs in preparation to deliver a poisonous bite. Before it could Slade reached over with his right hand, gripping the snake's head right before it was going to dart forward to sink it's fangs into his left shoulder.

The changeling hastily morphed into a hummingbird, freeing himself from Slade's grip from his sudden change in size. Not wasting any time, the small green hummingbird flew right above Slade's head and then morphed again, this time into a very big and very heavy green elephant. The masked villain's one eye widened in surprise before he desperately dove forward to escape being crushed by the massive animal's weight as gravity brought it down.

Slade struggled to right himself in mid-air from being in close proximity to the elephant when it impacted the glass-ridden floor. He managed to land on his right side rather than his head, reaching into his utility belt, the masked villain threw an explosive disc. The disc detonated near the right side of the emerald elephant's torso, knocking it onto it's left flank.

Morphing back into his normal form, Beastboy rose to his hands and knees. His eyes were shut and his teeth clenched tight from the pain. Slade's eye narrowed, seeing an opportunity. The villain dashed towards the changeling and delivered a vicious kick to his torso. The strength of the kick was strong enough to send Beastboy into the ceiling, which he slammed into with a sickening thud.

Beastboy's limp form began falling back to the floor, his body facedown and parallel to the floor. Slade leapt into the air and delivered a solid right hook to the green Titan's jaw, relentlessly keeping up his assault. Beastboy was sent into and through one of the walls of the building. As the one-eyed villain landed, he stood up tall, admiring his handiwork.

His brief moment of arrogance cost him as a green tiger burst forth from the hole in the wall. The tiger's razor sharp claws on it's right forepaw dug into the flesh of Slade's torso, tearing through his costume and leaving three bloody diagonal lines across his chest. The tiger continued it's dive past the villain, landing on it's feet and quickly turning to face it's enemy once more.

Slade's one eye narrowed as he clutched his bleeding chest with his left hand. He had managed to lean back so the tiger's claws hadn't dug in like they could have. If they had, he would have been in serious trouble. Turning to face the green tiger, Slade pulled out a knife from his belt with his right hand. He reversed the grip so that the back of the blade rested along his right forearm and charged at Beastboy once more.

The Tiger mirrored Slade's action, charging towards the masked villain and leaping into the air. Slade lashed out with the knife, aiming for the tiger's belly, while the emerald tiger struck out with it's right forepaw, aiming for the one-eyed villain's head. Metal met claws as the knife was deflected by the tiger's claws and vice versa. The two fighter's attacks had nullified each other and because of the speed they had built up in their charges momentum was carrying them past each other. Neither could press their attack.

The two ended up swapping positions, Slade in Beastboy's position before the charge and the changeling in the general area of the masked villain before the charge. Terra was watching this whole battle unfold before her eyes and felt her world unraveling. There was no fixing this, Slade and Beastboy were not going to magically become friends and stop fighting. It was all going to hell and her comfortable life would never be the same.

Unable to bear it any longer the blonde geomancer turned and ran down the closest hallway she could. The reflections from the cracked mirrors showing a girl who looked like a total stranger to Terra. She shut her eyes in response and willed her legs to move faster, the geomancer wasn't even sure where she was running to. Terra just knew that she had to get away.

Beastboy saw Terra run away, he quickly morphed back into his normal form and called out her name, preparing to run after her. Something was wrong though, everything around him began to blur together in a mix of colors. That was odd, he didn't think Slade had hit him so hard and he didn't feel lightheaded either. The changeling ignored his sudden impaired vision and continued to call out to his friend.

"Terra! Terra wait!"

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"Wait Terra!" Beastboy shouted, his eyes snapping open as he saw his right hand stretched out, reaching for his blonde friend, but she wasn't there. In fact, he wasn't in the house of mirrors anymore, he was in Terra's room, lying on her bed. How the hell did he get back here?

The green Titan's left hand brushed against something cool and smooth, he quickly turned to look at what he had touched to discover a grey heart-shaped box. The sight of the gift he had given to Terra brought it all back to him. He cradled the heart-shaped box in his hands and lowered his head sadly.

A dream, it was just a dream.

"You're finally awake." A monotone voice stated. Beastboy quickly looked around and found Raven levitating in a corner of the room. She sat indian style in midair, her hands on her knees, her violet eyes staring at him stoically. The changeling moved so that he was sitting at the edge of Terra's bed.

"How long have you been there?" He asked her.

"Long enough to hear you thrashing in your sleep." She answered simply. A few moments of tense silence ensued.

"Why are you here?" Beastboy questioned, his voice soft and his gaze on the carpet in Terra's room.

"Making sure you don't do anything stupid to yourself." Raven responded, he met her eyes with his own then.

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm not going to hurt myself. I'm just...I'm just really bummed that's all." The green Titan said. Raven's face remained a stoic mask.

"I'm not worried about you, I'm just making sure my teammate doesn't do something idiotic, you do that enough when you are in a normal state of mind. And I use the term 'Normal' loosely." Raven replied, although she said it calmly, to Beastboy she might as well be yelling and stabbing him with a verbal knife. She saw the changeling's hurt expression and instantly regretted her choice of words.

"Nice to see you're as mean as ever Raven. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get something to eat. I'm really not in a mood to be cut down by your rapier-wit and sharp tongue today." Beastboy responded, making his way to the door and exiting out of Terra's room, leaving Raven to wallow in her guilt.

The dark girl frowned, she didn't mean to sound that harsh. The words just naturally flowed from her lips. Beastboy was just such an easy target for her verbal jabs and normally he was easygoing about it. However this was different, the worthless traitor Terra had hurt him emotionally and Raven hadn't been able to properly adjust to his change in demeanor yet.

Raven's eyes narrowed slightly as she thought of the blonde geomancer. How dare she take everything they gave her and spit in their face! Wrecking the Tower, trying to destroy her and her friends, breaking Beastboy's heart. All of it was unforgiveable in the dark Titan's mind. Terra would pay.

The dark girl closed her eyes and assumed her meditation position. First things first though, she had to meditate. Raven could feel her emotions starting to get out of control and that would not do right now. Once she had sufficiently calmed herself down she would go and make amends with Beastboy.


	2. Coping with betrayal 2

**A/N: It took me awhile to update this due to time constraints. Also due to the fact that I mull conversations between characters over in my head endlessly. They don't come as easy to me as fight scenes. So it's a challenge for me!  
**

**Thank you Amenson and 5dRaWkCab for the reviews.  
**

**Apologize for any spelling/grammar errors you may come across and I don't own any of the Teen Titans characters.  
**

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Beastboy walked sullenly through the halls of the Tower on his way to the common room. He understood that Raven was far from normal, but come on, she at least had to know he was hurting right? After all the girl he loved was working for Slade all along, it was pretty crushing. The changeling figured that his dark teammate could at least cut him some slack.

As the doors to the common room slid open, Beastboy saw that the others were already treating themselves to breakfast. The room itself was still not fully repaired after the assault from Slade's robots so Cyborg couldn't fix his usual meat bonanza. Even though the smell of meat was not as strong as it usually was Beastboy still found it discomforting.

Starfire stopped eating to get up and give him a hug, he smiled, appreciating the gesture. The Tamaranean's heart was as big as the city itself and he found comfort in her kindness. Cyborg and Robin both greeted him as well. They let him know that they were there for him if he needed it. Beastboy was glad for their support, but he found himself wondering why Raven couldn't do the same thing. Giant rampaging demon in her mind or no, she could at least find some way to be nicer to him. Hell he'd settle for her just not talking to him, at least until he had come to terms with everything that has happened.

The changeling got to work on fixing his meal, fixing himself a rather large vegetarian dish. Furniture in the Tower at the moment was at a premium as they had not had a chance to replace the destroyed stuff from the attack. So Beastboy settled in on a spot on the floor and began eating. He must have really been chowing down because the others began to stare at him.

"Damn BB. You're putting me to shame right now." Cyborg remarked. Robin rubbed his chin.

"While I'm glad to see you eating again Beast Boy, maybe you should slow down a little." The masked Titan said, his lips curving upward into a smile. "I don't think you're even tasting your breakfast." Beastboy went to reply, but food debris from his mouth shot outwards instead of words. Forcing Robin and Cyborg to comically duck for cover as the debris sailed over them. "And maybe you shouldn't try to talk with your mouth full too." The Boy Wonder stated, eyeing the changeling warily.

"Friends I do not understand why you disapprove of Beastboy's actions. On my planet it is considered a great honor when one finishes their meal so hastily." Starfire chimed in.

"Man I can't imagine a table full of Beastboys that would truly be horrifying." Cyborg said with a shudder, "All that tofu...yuck!" Beastboy gulped down the remaining food in his mouth before smiling weakly at his friends.

"Just making up for lost time." The changeling told them.

After breakfast, the four Titans continued their work on fixing the Tower. Robin was using a spare laptop he had stashed away somewhere to keep up with the crime reports. Even with their home in shambles they couldn't let criminals have their way. Starfire was busy installing new windows, welding them on with her eyebeams. Cyborg was installing a new security system, fiddling with a console to the left of the door leading into and out of the common room. Beastboy found himself relegated to moving furniture, but he didn't mind. It kept his mind off other things.

The green shapeshifter was in ape form and in the process of moving the new U-shaped red couch to where the old one used to be when the common room doors slid open. In stepped the person he wanted to see the least right now. Raven's hood was down as her violet eyes quickly scanned the room, she kept her gaze on Beastboy for a moment before turning and heading to the kitchen to make her tea.

Robin immediately picked up on the tension between Raven and Beastboy. Cyborg and Starfire were too engrossed in their work to notice, but he wasn't. He decided to merely observe for now, hoping that whatever problem they had with each other they would fix on their own. He didn't want to step in and play counselor, but he would if he had to. Slade had dealt them a heavy blow and he couldn't afford to have two members of his team at odds with each other.

Beastboy ended up setting the couch down rather loudly, getting everyone's attention. They all looked at the changeling curiously, who morphed back into his normal form and gave a small sheepish smile.

"Heh, sorry didn't think it would be that loud." He apologized, his answer satisfied everyone but Robin. The masked Titan frowned, but said nothing, choosing to continue working on his laptop. Beastboy then wiped some sweat off his forehead and sat down on the couch, reclining into a relaxed position and resting his head on the top of the couch.

"Taking a break?" Raven's raspy voice spoke to his right, Beastboy turned his head in that direction to see Raven standing there, a teacup in her hand.

"Yeah, been at this a couple of hours." He replied. She nodded.

"Mind if I sit?" She asked, Beastboy hesitated a moment then shrugged.

"It's not just my couch." He answered, the dark girl took the seat next to them.

They sat in silence, Beastboy didn't want to say anything to Raven, he was still mad at her for what happened that morning. Raven on the other hand was trying to think of something to say, but couldn't. Her usual try remarks would not do her any good here, she wasn't good at apologizing or consoling a teammate that was suffering emotionally. The dark Titan decided to play it safe and start off with a simple conversation.

"What are you planning to do after moving the furniture?" She asked.

"I don't know." The changeling responded, staring at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Raven sighed.

"Please don't tell me you plan to go back to Terra's room. You've been in there for a whole day already." The dark girl stated, Beastboy's eyebrows furrowed slightly in anger.

"So what if I was Raven? I'm not harming anyone by staying in there." He responded.

"You're harming yourself." Raven stated simply.

"Last I checked my wounds were healing fine. You should know, you healed them." Beastboy replied, annoyance in his voice.

"You know what I mean Beastboy. It's not healthy for you to be in Terra's room like that. You need to put it behind you." The dark girl told her green teammate. Beastboy began to glare at the ceiling.

"You say that like it's so simple." The changeling told her.

"Because it is, I've already written Terra off." Raven informed him. Beastboy finally turned to fix his glare on her, his teeth were clenched and his lips were peeled back.

"Well good for you!" He snarled, getting up from the couch and making his way to the common room's exit. Raven sat wide-eyed, surprised by his sudden outburst, but she quickly recovered. The dark girl phased through the floor, coming back up in front of Beastboy who was just out of arms reach from the doors. She mildly glared at him, but he was unphased.

"You need to face facts. Terra has betrayed us, she's no longer a Titan." Raven said. The others attention was now drawn to them, but they politely stayed out of the conversation, for now at least.

"Move." Was all Beastboy said to her. Raven didn't budge, the tension increased.

"How long do you plan to keep moping around like a kicked puppy? Slade is still on the loose and this city needs the Titans and the Titans need you. The real you, not this pitiful shell of your former self." Raven said.

"I can 'mope around' as long as I damn well feel like it. You don't understand what I'm going through." The changeling hissed. Raven's eyebrows furrowed deeper as her own glare intensified.

"I understand enough. You thought you were in love with her." The dark girl replied, she saw Beastboy was making a visible effort to keep his temper in check.

"I DID love her." He corrected.

"But she didn't love you..." Raven answered, the rest of her reply was cut off as the giant fist of a green yeti sailed past the left side of her face and smashed into the wall behind her. The fist made a pretty decent-sized hole in the wall and the dark girl could only stare in shock, she had never seen Beastboy morph so fast. The others had completely dropped all pretense of working and made their way over to them.

The green yeti glared daggers at Raven before morphing back into Beastboy. In his normal form he was no longer staring at her, instead his head was lowered and she couldn't get a good look at his face. After a moment he brushed past Raven, the doors to the common room's exit slid open at his close proximity.

"Sorry about the wall." He told his friends, his back facing them. "I'm going out, don't wait up for me. I'll fix the wall when I get back." The changeling informed them before exiting the common room.

Raven sighed in frustration, she had come here with the full intention of making things right with Beastboy, but instead things were worse. Why the hell couldn't Beastboy see that Terra used him? He deserved better than her. The dark girl blinked at that last thought, quickly dismissing it as Robin walked up to her.

"Usually I am on your side when it comes to the two of you fighting." The masked Titan started, "But I think you should leave Beastboy alone for awhile, especially when it comes to Terra." He finished. Raven frowned at her leader.

"We can't have him in this shape mentally Robin. He won't be able to function properly in the field and he'll end up getting hurt." The dark Titan told him. Robin nodded.

"I know, but your way of going about it isn't any better." He replied.

"I'm just trying to get him to see Terra for what she really is. It's not my fault he's being so stubborn." Raven defended.

"Raven. His heart is broken right now. No amount of logic you throw at him is going to work. I'm sure Beastboy is aware that Terra's moments with him might all be lies. But he needs time for his heart to see this and accept it." He gave a stern look to his violet-haired teammate. "He needs time to heal Raven." After a moment, Raven gave a reluctant nod.

"I don't like this Robin." She admitted.

"None of us do. Terra's betrayal has caught us all off-guard, and we're all just as worried about Beastboy." The Titans leader stated, Raven frowned.

"I'm not worried about Beastboy I'm just trying to get through that thick skull of his." The dark girl corrected him. Robin smiled, it was a smile that Raven was finding annoying. "What?" The Boy Wonder shook his head in response, the smile still on his lips.

"Nothing, I'll discuss it with you later. I suggest you stay away from Beastboy until he cools down then try to apologize to him." Robin said. "Just an apology don't try to convince him of Terra's evilness, he's not ready for that yet." He quickly added.

"Fine." Raven replied simply, turning to exit the common room doors. "I think I need to meditate more." A lot more, she added in her head. The dark girl made her way to her room, trying to decipher what just went wrong.


	3. Coping with betrayal 3

**A/N: Apologies, I know it's been awhile since I updated. My original story is picking up so most of my energy has been focused no that, and then there's r/l. Add to the fact that I rewrote this chapter and that's why it took so long to get out. Hopefully I can get the chapter after this one out sooner than I did with this one.**

**Thanks Ludra90 for the review and also the people that favorited.  
**

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Downtown Jump City, where people were even more active at night than they were in the day. Bars lined the streets and fast food chains were conveniently placed near them for those who enjoyed the night life. Those who weren't engaging the bars and restaurants were on their way out, heading to their homes with their families and turning in for the night.

Beastboy was not looking for any of these however. He had a lot of pent-up frustration that he needed to let out, and beating up some thugs would do just the trick now. Soaring high above the district as a green eagle, he had decided to start from downtown and fan out his search from there. Bashing any skulls who were unfortunate enough to try and attempt to break the law tonight.

It only took a few minutes for the green Titan to find some targets. Three shady looking men were following a young lady carrying a bag of groceries. Of course the woman decided to try to take a shortcut through an alley and the trio of men follow her in. You would think the general public would learn to stay away from dark alleys by now.

Still in his eagle form, Beastboy began his descent towards the alley. Two of the thugs continued towards the woman, who was now aware they were following her. The last thug was watching the alley's entrance to make sure they were not interrupted. He was going to have to disappoint. Silently, he landed on the roof of the building right above the trio of petty criminals, reverting to his normal form.

The woman had picked up her pace but to her dismay she found that the alley she had chosen was a dead end. She turned back around to face her pursuers. One of the men wore a dark brown coat with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans and brown boots, A red baseball cap worn backwards adorned his head. The second man wore a black coat with a black shirt underneath, green cargo pants and brown shoes, his head had a blue baseball cap on it, it was worn the normal way.

"Empty your pockets lady and your pretty face won't get wrecked." The man with the red baseball cap ordered.

"Stay back! I have mace!" The woman shouted, pulling out a small spray bottle from her purse. Both men grinned.

"That's okay we brought our own toys as well." The man with the blue baseball cap said. Both him and his friend pulled out switchblades. The woman shrank back against the wall upon seeing the sharp objects.

"Come on don't be stupid woman, do you really think you can get both of us with your little spray before we get to you? Play it smart, all we want is your money." Red-cap said with a smirk. "I can tell you're rich just by looking at you, share the wealth lady."

Beastboy had heard enough. He dove off the roof, morphing into an ape as he did so. The thug watching the alley entrance had enough time to look up and start to shout before Beastboy smashed into the ground right in front of him. The impact knocked the man backwards, causing him to land on his back. As the thug propped himself up on his elbows, Beastboy wrapped his right hand around the man's neck.

The green ape growled and tightened his grip enough on the man's throat so that all he could do was give a near inaudible squawk. He then reared back and threw the man right into the shady thug with the red cap on. The human projectile nailed red-cap right between his shoulderblades, sending him face-first into the unforgiving concrete of the alley's floor.

"What the?" The man in the blue cap managed to say as he whirled around to be greeted by the sight of a very angry emerald-colored tiger running towards him. To his credit, the thug reacted quickly. Throwing the knife at the tiger, which nimbly dodged to it's left and continued dashing towards him. Blue-cap cursed and pulled out a handgun with his right hand, he only managed to get one shot off before the tiger was on him, tackling him to the ground. The gun knocked out of his hand from the impact.

Beastboy growled in his tiger form and dug his claws deep into the man's shoulders. The thug cried out in agony and begged for mercy. The changeling's response was to roar right in his face, a small voice in his head urged him on, telling him he should make this scumbag pay for trying to harm the woman. However he quickly silenced it. The green Titan quickly morphed into a velociraptor, grabbing the man by his left leg with his tail. He then picked the thug up by his leg and slammed him into the wall on his right. Blue-cap's head bounced off the wall and when Beastboy released him from his tail's grip he collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

The changeling reverted back to his normal form now that all the thugs were unconscious. He half-turned so he could look at the frightened woman.

"You okay?" He asked her. She nodded, the can of mace still in her trembling hand.

"Y-yeah I'll be okay, thank you." She told him.

"Bit of advice lady, don't try to take shortcuts through alleys at night, it never works out. You've seen horror movies before right? Stick to the damn public areas from now on." He grumbled and with that he transformed into a green bird and flew away, looking for the next batch of thugs stupid enough to try and commit a crime tonight. His flight was cut short when he felt a nagging pain on his right side. Finding a nearby rooftop to land on he quickly morphed back to his normal, placing his right hand where the pain was coming from.

When Beastboy raised his right hand to his face, there was a small smudge of red on his palm. Examining his side more closely he noticed a small tear in his costume where there was an angry line of red on his exposed green skin in the tear. He growled, looks like that damn thug got lucky with his one shot, landing a glancing blow with the bullet to his side.

The thought of being injured by low-life criminals fueled Beastboy's rage. He morphed back into a bird and took flight with even greater vigor than before. If he was going to bleed he was going to make the scum of Jump City's underbelly bleed even worse. After a scant few minutes patrolling in the air the green Titan spotted a suspicious-looking man in a ski-mask trying to break the lock on a door to an electronics store.

Morphing into a pteradactyl, Beastboy dove for the man. Snatching him up by the shoulders with his talons and retreating back to the skies with him. The would-be robber was screaming in terror, begging to be let go. The changeling obliged, releasing him from his taloned grip high in the air.

Before the man could drop an inch in altitude Beastboy morphed into a kangaroo and kicked him hard in the torso. The blow knocked the robber hard onto the floor of a nearby rooftop that they were level with. The impacts of being kicked by the changeling and hitting the floor had knocked the man out.

Beastboy morphed back into a bird and continued patrolling the city. Stopping muggers, robbers and various other sorts of criminals he could find. He was at it for hours as he tried to work out his anger and frustration. However no matter how many heads he busted, his rage never seemed sated. One thug he had stopped had managed to make a slight cut on his left cheek with a knife. That only fed the fire of the changeling's fury as he beat the man senseless.

After about twenty more minutes of patrolling and finding no sign of crime his frustration started to grow. Where the hell were all the criminals? The one time he wanted to knock a few heads together and crime was taking a day off? He landed and morphed into a wolf, hoping to pick up the scent of something and hopefully, someone suspicious. It didn't matter what it was as long as it was against the law, so he would have an excuse to beat the living daylights out of them.

He picked up the scent of drugs and gunpowder, it was leading him to the docks. The changeling mentally berated himself. Of course the docks would have something shady going on, that he didn't think of it before just showed how much his anger was clouding his thoughts. He was about to take flight when his communicator beeped. He growled in annoyance and reluctantly pulled it out of his belt.

Flipping the communicator open, Beastboy was greeted with the sight of Raven on the tiny screen. Her hood was down and she was staring at him with that usual irritating stoic expression.

"What are you doing?" The dark girl asked,

"My job as a superhero why?" The changeling replied tersely. Raven sighed.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" She questioned.

"Don't know, don't care." Beastboy answered. He watched as Raven's eyes narrowed slightly on the communicator's screen.

"It's past two in the morning. Don't you think it's a little late to be crimefighting?" The cloaked Titan inquired.

"We've done missions this late before." The changeling shot back.

"Only when we've been alerted, besides circumstances are different this time, with the Tower still in disarray and all." Raven clarified.

"To hell with the damn circumstances." Beastboy snarled. He watched as the dark girl closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled, then reopened them.

"Look Beastboy, you're angry and frustrated, I understand. But this is causing you to tunnel-vision, you're letting your anger influence your actions and it's going to get you hurt or worse. You don't think I notice that cut on your cheek? Normally ordinary criminals can't even touch you." Raven responded. The green Titan's glare deepened.

"No Raven. You only think you understand, otherwise you would get off my back about letting Terra go. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to bashing some skulls." Beastboy informed her.

"Listen." Raven quickly said, causing the changeling to pause from turning the communicator off. "I'm sorry about earlier, maybe you're right, maybe I don't understand what you're going through. I'm trying though, you've been in my mind Beastboy, you know how these emotional things are strange to me. So help me try to understand."

Beastboy hesitated, her words penetrated the haze of rage around his brain. He sometimes forgot that Raven suppressed her emotions and subsequently found some aspects of them confusing. She wasn't like Starfire who let her emotions run free, Raven kept her emotions locked up inside her. Something about a giant demon that would be set free and bring about the end of the world if she relinquished too much control. Because of this she distanced herself from the team to an extent. So maybe because she wasn't close with anyone she didn't know what it was like to lose a good friend? The changeling mulled it over in his head, before finally answering his dark teammate.

"Alright fine. I'll try to explain to you what I'm going through. It's not easy though, after all this is me trying to explain something." Beastboy replied, there was a small, very small smile on the violet-haired girl's lips.

"It's fine, I just don't want there to be any bad blood between us. I really do want to help." She told him. Beastboy rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah I know Raven. I just...like I said this is pretty rough for me right now." He said.

"So does this mean you're going to stop your little crimefighting spree before you drop dead from exhaustion and come home?" She asked him, the changeling grinned.

"Maybe just one more." He said, with a glint of his old humor. Raven's eyes narrowed.

"You're impossible." she told him.


	4. Coping with betrayal 4

**A/N: Thanks Stormplains for the review.**

**Another chapter out so soon? Why yes! Luckily I had some extra writing time.  
**

* * *

Bixby's was a mainstream coffee franchise that had stores all over Jump City. Beastboy decided to choose it as a place to talk to Raven for two reasons. The first was because he knew it served tea, something that she would appreciate. The second was that it wasn't the darkly-lit cafe like the one Raven frequently occupied. He really didn't want to have that kind of atmosphere at the moment. It seemed like a reasonable compromise for them both. They were seated across from each other at a table away from most of the people with a large square window to watch the citizens go about their business.

Raven clenched her cup of tea tight. She was thankful for the beverage as it was the only thing that was soothing her at this time. Seeing the people, mostly young kids about her age, with their cheery faces and bright clothes annoyed her to no end. It was one of the reasons Beastboy irritated her, because he was always laughing, always cracking stupid jokes. The dark girl was baffled about how he was able to stay so happy all the time.

The dark girl took a sip from her cup, well she USED to be baffled. She was finally seeing a Beastboy who wasn't trying to get her to smile with another joke or bug her or any of the other Titans with a prank. This Beastboy steered clear from being the center of attention rather than strive for it. Raven wanted to know why.

"Whenever you're ready." Raven prompted, taking another sip. Beastboy looked up from his hands, he opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again.

"Like I said, it's hard to explain." He started. "Terra was...special. I mean don't get me wrong you guys are my friends and all, but for her there was something else." Raven listened attentively.

"So this 'something else' you felt for her, you can't put it into words?" The dark girl questioned. The changeling's eyebrows furrowed as he thought up a response.

"It's hard to." He said, pausing a moment to lick his lips nervously. "Terra was...whenever she was around I felt a little bit lighter, a little more happier, I felt like I could take on the world with her around."

"Why did she make you feel this way? Don't tell me it was just her looks." Raven replied.

"Well that was part of it, I can't lie. I think I liked her the most though because she was just 'One of the guys' and she liked my jokes and I think...I thought she really understood me." The changeling revealed. The dark Titan chose her next words very carefully.

"Beastboy. Have you given it thought that she may have just pretended to like you? That she was deceiving you?" Raven asked. Beastboy glared, but not at her, he was glaring at his cup, remembering past events and analyzing them.

He remembered the good times with Terra, times that were now bittersweet because of her betrayal. He remembered the shame on her face when Slade revealed that she was working for him. Most of all though he remembered how lost she looked, right before his rage got the better of him and he snapped, telling her she didn't have any friends.

"I don't think that's it, not exactly at least." Beastboy finally answered. "I think..." He paused trying to think best in how to phrase his explanation. "I think that she's confused Raven. I think our time with her changed her somehow. She wasn't exactly pure evil when I last saw her." Raven took another sip from her cup. The dark girl still thought that Terra was a no-good lousy deceiver, but she kept those thoughts to herself.

"Even so. You have to prepare yourself, in the future she may come after us. She's in Slade's company after all." Raven replied. Beastboy nodded.

"Yeah, I know." He responded softly.

"I don't have many friends Beastboy. You are one of the few, the rest are in the tower. My friends mean a lot to me, so if Terra was more than a friend to you, then I can't begin to imagine what you're going through. For that, I'm sorry." Raven said, Beastboy smiled slightly

"I mean a lot to you huh? Is this why you were badgering me all the time yesterday?" The green Titan asked. Raven broke eye contact, looking out the window they were seated next to.

"I thought you hated me." She answered softly. Beastboy was shocked.

"What?" he exclaimed, drawing a few stares from nearby people, they soon lost interest in his sudden outburst though and returned to their conversations.

"When we were arguing in the tower and you punched the wall next to me. I thought deep down, that our friendship was over." She turned to look at him again and Beastboy saw that her eyes weren't hardened like they usually were, they were soft, vulnerable. The changeling was speechless, Raven had let her guard down. "You guys are the only people who have treated me well and taken me in. You've shown me what it means...to have friends. The thought of losing that friendship even with just one of you is..."

The window next to them cracked, Beastboy realized that Raven was starting to lose control of her emotions and consequently her powers. Quickly he reached across the table with his left hand and gripped her right forearm, squeezing tight. He locked eyes with hers, his expression serious. The sudden sensation of someone touching her stopped the spiral of chaos she was descending into, at least temporarily.

"Raven..." Beastboy started, he stopped when he noticed something outside through the window. Something small, metallic, narrow and left a smoke trail, a missile and it was heading right towards Raven and him.

* * *

Fire and smoke plumed out from Bixby's where the missile hit. A certain pint-sized pointdexter was very satisfied with this.

"Ha! Ha! Bullseye!" Gizmo shouted in triumph, pumping his fist. Mammoth walked up next to his short teammate a frown on his face.

"Why did they have to choose Bixby's? I hate their food, wanted to get some grub after our mission is complete." The tall solidly built hive villain stated. Jinx didn't reply she was currently watching the store, waiting for a counterattack. Just in case Gizmo's missile didn't get them.

Her team was right across the street from Bixby's, hiding in an alleyway. They had been offered another mission from Slade. This was surprising for Jinx because she thought for sure they wouldn't get any job offers from him after their first blunder with the Titans. She was determined not to screw up a second time. Besides this mission was going to be easier than their previous one.

"There's restaurants all over, once we finish them off we can go to any one you like Mammoth." Jinx told her teammate, the large youth smiled.

"How about all of them?" He suggested, Jinx mildly glared at him.

"We'll see." She replied, turning to Gizmo. "The surprise is ready for the other Titans right?" she asked the pint-sized genius, who was currently looking on a videoscreen on his left forearm with a grin.

"Yup those pit-sniffing Titans are in for a surprise when they try to come help out their little friends!" He answered. Jinx smiled.

All according to plan.


	5. Coping with betrayal 5

**A/N: I have this great image in my head on how this fight will go, hopefully it's as exciting for you guys as it is for me. You may have noticed that I've begun work on the sequel to Primal Madness as well. Three stories at once? Can I handle the workload? Hopefully! One thing I have going for me is that they have all been fun to write.  
**

**Responses to reviews  
**

**Ludra90 - Glad you liked the interactions between Raven and Beastboy. I have yet to get tired of writing them. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's got some action scenes.  
**

**Stormplains - I almost always try to do a thorough proofread before posting my chapters, something always gets through the cracks though. Glad to see that it didn't last chapter.  
**

* * *

"We're on our way Raven hang on!" Robin said into his communicator. He was currently riding his motorcycle. Cyborg was riding at his side in the T-Car while Starfire was flying above them keeping pace. "Are you guys okay?"

"Beastboy took a bad hit, but we're okay otherwise." Raven replied.

"I'm fine!" Robin heard Beastboy say. He watched as Raven turned her head in order to address her green teammate.

"No you're not, you took the brunt of that missile explosion." She said to him.

"It's just a scratch." He protested, Raven's eyes narrowed.

"You have a piece of shrapnel sticking out of your shoulder!" The dark girl responded.

"No I don-OWWWW! what the hell Raven?" Beastboy yelled, Raven's eyes stopped glowing white, Robin saw that she was holding a six-inch jagged piece of bloody metal in her right hand.

"I rest my case." The dark Titan said dryly. "How soon until you guys get here?" Robin set his jaw in determination.

"Not long, hang in there, Robin out." The Boy Wonder informed her, closing his communicator and focusing on feeding more speed into his motorcycle. It made sense that the Hive would attack the Titans so brazenly. One look at the Tower was all you needed to see that they were not at their best right now. Strike when your foe is reeling, Robin remembered that from his training. It was a sound tactic, he just wished it wasn't being applied to his team at the moment.

* * *

"The others are on their way." Raven told her green friend. Blue light engulfed her grey hands as she worked to heal the cut in Beastboy's right shoulder. They were currently positioned at the Western wall of the building, the Eastern wall was partially decimated from the missile attack. Beastboy was resting on his haunches, leaning his back against the wall with Raven on his right.

"Who do you think is attacking us?" The changeling asked.

"Not sure, it could be anyone dumb enough to put on a mask, pick up a rocket launcher and call themselves a villain..." The dark Titan answered.

At that moment a loud crash was heard, the two teen superheroes watched as what was left of the Eastern wall was completely destroyed. In stepped Mammoth, a cocky grin on his face, Gizmo right behind him, flying slightly above the big man's right shoulder.

"Hey pit-sniffers! Did you miss us?" Gizmo taunted.

"...Or it could just be the Hive." Raven added in her trademark deadpan. Jinx stepped in to Mammoth's left at that point, a big grin on her face.

"Attack pattern alpha!" She barked out, Gizmo immediately fired another missile from a shoulder-mounted turret on his right shoulder. Raven surrounded herself and Beastboy in a hemisphere of dark energy and phased them through the ground before the missile made contact. The explosion rocked the coffee shop and civilians quickly started emptying the store.

The black hemisphere reemerged from the ground right behind the Hive. As soon as Raven lowered it, a green wolf leapt out, tackling Gizmo to the ground.

"Ahh!" The pint-sized genius screamed, "Get it off me! Get it off me!" Mammoth turned to aid his teammate, but suddenly found that he couldn't move his legs. Looking down, the big man saw that his ankles were held together by a rope-like tendril of dark energy.

Raven yanked hard on the rope constructed from her power, causing Mammoth to fall flat on his face. The dark girl was immediately nailed in the chest afterwards by a blast of pink energy courtesy of Jinx, knocking her on her back and into the street. Beastboy was still trying to tear apart Gizmo's backpack of tech equipment with his teeth, but wasn't making very much progress.

Jinx turned to the changeling, stretched out her arms on either side of her and spun in a circle, sending out a huge wave of pink energy at him. Seeing this coming, Beastboy quickly morphed into a bird and flew above the pink energy wave a moment before it hit him. He was unable to dodge the laser blast that hit him from Gizmo though. The pint-sized genius had capitalized on being freed from being pinned down, using his tech to conjure up a laser turret.

The laser blast sent Beastboy flying as he tried to flap his wings frantically to level himself out. His effort was in vain though as he landed in a dumpster in an alley across the street. Gizmo laughed at that.

"HA! How'd you like that laser to the face barfbrain?" The little man shouted, his cocky demeanor soon diminished as a glowing black mailbox came flying towards him. He had time to let out an unmanly scream before it slammed into him. He careened into the wall where he bounced off of it and fell to the ground in a heap.

"Not as much as you liked that probably." Raven replied in her monotone. She saw Jinx conjuring up more waves of pink energy out of the corner of her eye. Quickly the dark girl phased through the ground, dodging the waves of pink energy and coming up again on Jinx's right, about fifteen feet away. As Raven was about to hit her with a blast of dark energy, the pink-haired sorceress' smile made her pause.

"Tough luck." Jinx said to the dark Titan with a big smile. Pink energy crackled along the brick wall of a building to the left of Raven and right above her. Three huge chunks of the wall, each about the size of a bus, began to fall down towards her. The dark girl's violet eyes went wide like saucers, they were falling too fast.

With eyes glowing the color of ivory, Raven raised her hands and quickly stopped the several chunks of the wall from falling on her. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead from the strain though. To make matters worse she was now a sitting duck for Jinx. The Hive leader smiled maliciously, her eyes glowing pink as she began conjuring up another wave of energy to finish Raven off.

Suddenly a green bird flew down and hovered in the air right above the dark Titan. The green bird soon morphed into a giant emerald-colored sasquatch. With one strike of it's giant fist, the sasquatch sent one of the chunks of wall flying towards Jinx. Who was forced to abandon her spell with a curse and cartwheel to her left to avoid the projectile.

The sasquatch growled and while gravity took hold and pulled it back to the ground, it grabbed a second chunk of debris and threw it at the pink-haired sorceress. Jinx frowned, but performed a frontflip, narrowly leaping over the large piece of debris. She had barely landed back on her feet when Raven threw the last piece of debris at her with her powers. The villain's pink eyes went wide with panic and she managed a very ungraceful dive to her right.

The chunk of debris managed to clip Jinx on her left hip as she dove, causing her to spin uncontrollably in midair before crashing back down to the solid concrete of the street. Slowly the pink-haired sorceress brought herself to her knees, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. The first thing she saw as her vision cleared was a very angry green panther dashing right for her.

Before the panther could get into range Mammoth dropped in from the air, landing six feet in front of Jinx. The giant-sized villain slammed his right fist into the ground as he landed, creating a crater from the impact, but more importantly, the force of the impact was strong enough to send the green panther flying backwards at breakneck speeds. Right into Raven.

The two Teen Titans tumbled across the street for a good ninety feet before stopping. Raven ended up face-down on the street, Beastboy's dazed form draped over her back. He was currently lying face-up, dizzily staring into the sky while groaning in pain. Raven cast him an annoyed look before pulling out her communicator.

"Any day now Robin." She said dryly into the device.

"Sorry Raven we ran into a problem." Came Robin's voice, Raven raised a violet eyebrow in response.

"What kind of problem?" She asked.

* * *

Robin ducked behind a car as several bolts of electricity passed through the air he had occupied half a second before.

"The kind that can't be ignored unfortunately." He replied into his communicator, grabbing a freeze disc from his disc and throwing it at Overload, the electrical monstrosity in front of him. Overload merely created a hole in it's torso and the freeze disc passed right through it, exploding on a car behind it and freezing the automobile completely.

The masked Titan growled in annoyance and looked to his left where Cyborg was currently grappling with Cinderblock. He watched as Starfire flew behind the rocky supervillain and unleashed a barrage of starbolts on it's back. Cinderblock stumbled forward from the assault and Cyborg took the opportunity to hit him in the gut with his right fist. Causing the giant stone-skinned villain to double over even further.

The stone villain grumbled something unintelligible and then lifted Cyborg into the air with both it's hands by his waist. He then flung the metallic Titan at Starfire, knocking her out of the air. The Tamaranean crashed onto a car's windshield a second later, Cyborg ended up landing on the cold and unforgiving concrete, shooting up a huge plume of dust where he landed, about sixty feet from Starfire's position.

Robin shook his head, it was not going well. Cinderblock and Overload had come out of nowhere, completely catching them by surprise. His motorcycle was a wreck and now his team was just now starting to recover from the fact that they were ambushed.

"Cinderblock and Overload blindsided us, we'll catch up with you as soon as we can, but this might take awhile." The boy wonder reluctantly said into the communicator.

"Wonderful." Raven responded sarcastically.

"Hang tight. Robin out." The Boy Wonder told her, closing his communicator and placing it back into his belt. He grabbed a birdarang in each hand and leapt onto the car's hood he was using for cover.

Overload reacted immediately, firing a few bolts of electricity in the masked Titan's direction, but Robin was already in the air. Leaping forward and releasing the birdarangs from his hands, they struck true and sliced off Overload's tendril-like arms. The high-voltage supervillain grunted like he was in pain, staggering backwards. Robin landed in a crouching position ten feet in front of him.

With the flick of his wrist the masked Titan extended his staff, twirling it in the air with both hands above his head. With an angry shout he charged at Overload, who was starting to crackle with electricity, his arms regenerating slowly, but surely.

* * *

Raven placed her communicator back in her belt and closed her eyes, clearing her mind of the anger and frustration her current predicament was placing her in.

"So what did Robin say?" Beastboy asked, she felt the weight on her back lifted and looked behind her to see the changeling getting to his feet, he looked battered, but otherwise okay.

"They got ambushed by Cinderblock and Overload so we're on our own." Raven informed him. Beastboy cracked his knuckles.

"Ah well, these losers might have us outnumbered, but I think they've forgotten how awesome us Titans are." He turned around and extended his right hand to Raven with a grin. "Let's remind them."

Normally Raven found Beastboy's enthusiasm unbearably annoying, but right now she was glad for it. Not that she'd ever tell him this. Still, she found herself unable to stop from grinning herself as she grabbed his extended hand, allowing him to pull her back to her feet.

It was time to turn the tables.


	6. Coping with betrayal 6

**A/N: I finally got some time to sit down and actually write this chapter. It's been brewing in my head for several days already.**

**Review Responses  
**

**Stormplains - Thanks! I'll do my best.  
**

**Ludra90 - If you like action you'll like this chapter.  
**

* * *

"So how are we going to do our counterattack?" Raven asked her green teammate, he was grinning like a hyena eyeing it's prey.

"Easy, you're going to use your powers to throw me at them." He replied, the dark girl raised a violet eyebrow.

"And then what?" She questioned, a blush appeared suddenly on the changeling's cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.

"I uh, haven't thought that far ahead yet." He admitted sheepishly, Raven rolled her eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?" She responded, Beastboy grinned.

"Come on Raven, you know I always come up with things on the fly. This will work, I promise. We've worked together long enough." He told her, cracking his knuckles, "Just follow my lead." Raven's eyes began to glow white as she tapped into her powers.

"For the record, I still think this is a bad idea."

"You always think all my ideas are bad ones!"

"Because they usually are."

"So why haven't you thought of a better one?"

"Sadly I'm at a loss at the moment. Now lets go before I change my mind." Raven finished, Beastboy nodded and transformed into an armadillo. He rolled himself into a ball and let his dark teammate levitate him with her powers. By this time the Hive had regrouped watching the pair warily. Jinx saw what their plan was, smirking evilly she turned to her two teammates.

"She's going to throw the changeling at us, get ready to dodge. When they miss we'll attack Ms. Goth over there first and then finish off the changeling, got it?" She asked her team, Mammoth smiled.

"Got it." The massive villain said, Gizmo snickered as he activated the spider-form of his tech.

"These snotballs won't know what hit'em!" the pint-size genius exclaimed. Jinx silently agreed. The villains watched as Raven began her mantra.

"Azarath..." The dark girl started. "...Metrion..." She continued, raising her arms, Beastboy, still in armadillo form, became encased in a thicker black aura. Jinx got into a half-crouch, preparing to move.

"Get ready!" The pink-haired villainess called out to her team "She's about to..."

"...Zinthos!" As soon as the final word of her mantra left her lips, Raven catapulted the green armadillo at the Hive with her powers. Less than half a second after she completed her mantra, the armadillo slammed into Mammoth's stomach. The impact was so strong it doubled the giant man over.

"...Fire?" Jinx finished lamely. Morphing quickly, Beastboy turned into a rhino. He lifted his head sharply, throwing Mammoth high into the air. Gizmo glared at the green Titan, his laser turret aiming for him.

"You crud munching scuzz bucket!" The pint-sized genius shouted, preparing to fire. He was interrupted when Mammoth crashed down on his head courtesy of Raven's powers.

"Damn!" Jinx cursed, performing a backflip to try and create some distance between her and the changeling. Beastboy morphed into a cheetah and quickly ran to close the gap between them. The pink-haired sorceress snarled and threw two waves of pink energy at the green cheetah in quick succession. The feline nimbly dodged to it's left to dodge the first wave, then back to it's right to dodge the second.

The green cheetah then dove for Jinx, it's claws stretched out and it's jaw wide. With incredible reflexes, the pink-haired villainess was able to duck under the cheetah's pounce. The green feline passed harmlessly over her head.

Jinx grinned widely, the changeling was now wide open. All it would take was one quick pink energy wave and he would be out of commission. Before she could conjure up her power though, a black aura surrounded the green cheetah. Defying all physics, the cheetah suddenly turned sharply, heading back towards her. Jinx suddenly became very aware of how out of position she was to dodge or block.

The pink-haired sorceress quickly stood from her crouch and turned to face the cheetah, hoping to fire off an energy wave before the changeling was upon her. She was too slow however and the cheetah lashed out with it's left forepaw. Jinx cried out in pain as three angry red lines appeared on her right cheek. She stumbled backwards, but quickly regained her footing, just in time too as the green cheetah had now turned into a green lion.

Beastboy swiped at Jinx with his right forepaw in lion form, while the pink-haired villain was able to leap backwards to dodge the swipe, she found herself cornered as her back slammed into a wall of black energy. The green Titan grinned inwardly, Raven was following his lead well. The changeling quickly morphed into a kangaroo and kicked Jinx hard in the torso. Raven had released the wall a split-second before his feet made contact with the Hive leader and so she was sent flying, landing unceremoniously in a dumpster.

Raven couldn't believe it, this was actually working. Whether it was through dumb luck or their teamwork she wasn't quite sure. All she knew was that they might defeat the Hive, just the two of them.

The dark Titan's thoughts were interrupted when she saw Mammoth charging at her. The massive villain was grinning widely as he barreled towards her.

"You both won't be so tough when I take you down girlie!" He shouted to her. Raven made eye contact with Beastboy, who was behind Mammoth. The changeling had reverted back to human form and he winked at her before changing into a mouse. Raven smirked, she knew what he wanted her to do. Mammoth was about thirty feet from her now, he reared his right fist back, getting ready to punch the dark girl into next week. "Any last words?" He called out, Raven's smirk remained pasted on her face.

"Yes actually." She replied, "You might want to duck." She stretched her right arm out, her index and middle finger pointed at him, glowing black with her power. Mammoth immediately stopped his charge and heeded her advice, crouching as low as he could to try and avoid whatever she was going to fire at him.

Instead of an energy blast like he was expecting, Mammoth was greeted by the sight of Raven smirking at him. She curled the index and middle fingers on her right hand inward, Mammoth stared at her confused for a second before it registered in his brain that she was never pointing at him in the first place. He turned around just in time to see a small green mouse encased in dark energy heading for him.

Right before the mouse was going to hit him, the black aura around it dissipated. The mouse then quickly morphed into an elephant and Mammoth only had time to mutter a curse before the giant animal slammed into him like a bullet train. While the elephant killed all it's forward momentum when it rammed into him. Mammoth sailed through the air at speeds a ferrari would be hard-pressed to keep up with. He flew past Raven on her right, causing her cloak to billow as he whizzed by, slamming into and through a nearby building.

Beastboy reverted back to his normal form, crouched down with a smile on his face. Before he could say anything, both Raven and him picked up the sound of a laser charging up. The two Titans made eye contact and without a word, Beastboy morphed into a sasquatch. He stretched out his right hand, palm facing the sky and Raven leapt onto it. Quickly he twisted around and threw the dark girl into the air as high as he could just a few moments before Gizmo's laser blast slammed into his left shoulder.

The changeling grunted in pain and Raven felt a small twinge of worry tug at her, but she quickly sensed that he was alright. The dark Titan was now high above Gizmo, who was busy cursing up a storm as he tried to get a lock on her with his laser turret.

Raven reached behind her with her right hand. Summoning her power, she made an overhand throwing motion. A small green rabbit was plucked from the ground with her powers. It followed Raven's right hand, flying up behind, above and finally descending down in front of her towards the pint-sized villain below.

"Crud!" Gizmo managed to shout, firing a laser blast at the rabbit, which quickly turned into a green triceratops. It's armored head deflected the laser as it crashed headfirst into the ground near the pint-sized villain. Gizmo screamed like a little girl as the proximity of the triceratops' crash knocked him across the street and into an alleyway. The pint-sized genius bounced around like a pinball in the alley before falling facefirst onto the dirty ground. Yellow electricity danced around his backpack of gadgets as he let out a groan of pain.

Beastboy reverted back to his normal form as Raven landed softly next to him. They were standing in the middle of the street, none of the Hive was moving to challenge them.

"Ow! did you have to throw me so hard that last time? These stars in my vision still haven't cleared." Beastboy complained, rubbing his head with his right hand.

"Sorry. Once I started using you as a wrecking ball I admit I got a little carried away." Raven replied, she turned to look at him with a small smile. "If I had known it was going to be that much fun I would have done it sooner." The changeling pointed a warning finger at his dark teammate.

"I'm warning you Raven, if you start doing that during missions, then you won't be able to sleep at night from the sheer amount of pranks I'd pull on you." He told her.

Before Raven could reply something large and heavy crashed into the street behind them. The two titans turned to see Mammoth standing before them about sixty feet away. He glared at the two superheroes as he rose to his full height.

"Don't think you can get rid of us so easily." He stated.

"We're getting a lot of money for this job." The duo heard from behind them and to their left. Jinx emerged from an alley, picking a banana peel out of her hair.

"And we're gonna make sure you gunk eaters pay for all this trouble you've caused us!" Gizmo sounded off from behind them and to their right.

"Uh oh." Raven said outloud, they were now surrounded. The Hive was definitely battered, but far from beaten.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry folks! I can't let the Hive be defeated yet! They still have a purpose to serve! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as I am able.**


	7. Coping with betrayal 7

**A/N: Apologies, this chapter may be a little short. The alternative was a longer wait, figured a smaller, but faster update was better.**

**Review Responses  
**

**Stormplains - When I was thinking up chapter 6's fight scene, I thought to myself "How would Raven and Beastboy work together around Season 2's time?" And I came up with the idea of Raven using Beastboy as a "Wrecking Ball." Glad it was entertaining.  
**

**Ludra90 - Things are about to get very ugly for the changeling and the dark girl. As for them continuing their interrupted conversation? You'll have to wait and see. (Hopefully not too long.)  
**

* * *

"Uh oh." Beastboy heard Raven say, he echoed her sentiments. They were surrounded in an open area. This was not going to end well for them.

"Attack..." Jinx started, her hands glowing pink.

"...Pattern..." Gizmo continued, his laser cannon charging up.

"...Delta!" Mammoth finished, slamming both fists on the ground in front of him. He created a shockwave that was destroying the street as it moved towards the two Titans. At the same time, Gizmo fired his laser cannon and Jinx threw her pink energy blasts. All three attacks were going to converge on Beastboy and Raven.

"Brace yourself!" The dark Titan yelled to her green teammate, holding her hands out and creating the strongest barrier she could. Half a second later they were hit by Attack Pattern Delta. The explosion could be seen from several blocks away.

It took a little while for the smoke to clear, but the Hive were patient, they needed to verify that they had eliminated their target. Finally the smoke cleared enough to where the trio of supervillains could get a look at the aftermath of the damage they caused. It wasn't pretty, well for the two superheroes at least. Every single one of the supervillains had a grin on their face when they got a good look at their handiwork.

Lying in the middle of a giant crater in the middle of the street were Raven and Beastboy. Numerous rips and tears adorned their costume as well as bruises that littered their skin. The changeling was lying facedown his left arm stretched out in front of him while his right remained at his hip. The dark girl was lying on her back, her now damaged cloak wrapped around her like a funeral shroud. Neither Titan was moving.

"Our lucky day." Jinx said softly to herself, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

_"An illusion."_

_"A fantasy."_

_"You can never give her what she needs."_

Beastboy kept hearing Slade's arrogant words repeating themselves over and over again. He was back again in that damned house of mirrors, surrounded by multiple images of Slade. The changeling fell to his knees, holding his hands to his ears in an effort to block out the villain's voice.

_"Her orders were to strike, but I guess she took pity on you."_

"Shut up!" Beastboy shouted, still clutching his ears.

_"Perhaps she wanted to keep you as a pet."_

"I said shut the hell up!" He yelled again, closing his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see the multiple images of Slade on the mirrors.

_"...She took pity on you..."_

"Damn it! Stop!"

_"...wanted to keep you as a pet..."_

"Stop!"

_"...a pet..."_

"Why won't you just stop!" Beastboy cried out, falling on his side and curling up into a fetal position. Even though he was still clutching his ears with his hands, he still heard Slade's mocking voice as clear as a bell.

_"...Never give her what she needs."_

"Fuck off!"

_"...What she needs..."_

"No..."

_"...You can never give her..."_

"NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Beastboy's eyes snapped open, and he found himself not in the house of mirrors, but at the middle of a large crater. His vision was still blurry, but he quickly spotted Raven to his right, lying on her back and groaning in pain as she fought her way to consciousness as well. The changeling coughed and managed to prop himself up with his left arm.

"You toejamming barfeaters are still alive after that?" Beastboy heard Gizmo's voice to his right. The pint-sized villain had his tech in spider-form, just at the crater's lip. His malicious smile was sporting all his teeth.

"Guess we'll have to fix that." Mammoth sounded from in front of him. The massive supervillain slammed his right fist into the palm of his left hand.

"One more time ought to do it." Jinx said from Beastboy's left. The changeling grimaced and struggled to his knees.

"Raven..." The green Titan called out, worry evident in his tone.

"...I know..." She replied through clenched teeth as she rose shakily to her feet. The Hive were already preparing their attack once more.

"Attack Pattern Delta!" Jinx shouted and once more Gizmo and her fired their respective attacks at the two Titans while Mammoth created another shockwave with his fists.

This time Beastboy morphed into a pteradactyl as fast as he could, trying to gain altitude as fast as possible. Although he dodged the initial blast, the sheer force from the explosion was enough to turn his controlled flight into an uncontrolled one. He felt like Mammoth had just punched him in the gut, but the changeling soldiered on.

Beastboy managed to regain control of his flight in pteradactyl form, frantically he searched around for Raven, finally spotted her emerging from the huge cloud of smoke generated from the Hive's second combined attack. The changeling inwardly frowned, it looked like she got tagged pretty good with the second attack. The dark girl's cloak was little more than tatters at this point, the right sleeve torn all the way up to her bicep, her right arm itself covered in bruises and small cuts. A small trickle of blood was running down her right lip and there was a nasty gash on her left leg. At least she was alive though.

"Eliminate the target!" He heard Jinx scream to her fellow teammates from below him. Beastboy looked below and saw the other two Hive members face him. He mentally cursed, someone was after him? Was it Slade? Probably, maybe he got to Terra more than he thought and the masked villain didn't like that for his new apprentice.

All three Hive members got into fighting stances and the green pteradactyl readied itself for some aerial evasive maneuvers. He saw Gizmo pull out a small disc-shaped device, it was grey with the bottom a flat surface while the top was dome-shaped. A small orange light was placed at the center of the dome and the outer edges were painted orange as well.

Beastboy watched as the pint-sized evil genius looked up at him with an evil smile and rear back his right hand which held the disc in it, ready to throw. The changeling braced himself preparing to dodge.

"Beastboy look out!" He heard Raven call to his right, on the edges of his vision he could see Raven reaching towards him, hands glowing black. He couldn't focus on that right now though, he needed to watch Gizmo so he knew which way to move when he threw the disc at him.

To his surprise, he saw Gizmo's grin grow even wider, changing direction suddenly, the pint-sized villain threw the disc, but not where Beastboy was expecting. Gizmo's aim was good and the disc sailed perfectly to it's target. The changeling was caught completely off-guard.

So was Raven as the disc landed on her right shoulderblade. The light on the disc began to blink rapidly. Raven only had time to open her eyes wide in panic and then the disc exploded.

Losing concentration on his animal form, Beastboy reverted back to his human form in midair.

"RAVEN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The disc created a decent-sized explosion. As Beastboy continued to watch, horrified. He saw a small column of smoke fly out from the cloud, heading for the street. The changeling realized that the column of smoke was actually Raven and she was dropping like a stone.

Beastboy mentally cursed himself for his foolishness. He wasn't the Hive's actual target.

Raven was.


	8. Coping with betrayal 8

**A/N: Wow, this story is way more popular than I thought it'd be when I started, but that's a good thing! I'm glad I could entertain.**

* * *

"Oh man!" Beastboy managed to say before morphing into a green falcon and diving straight for the plummeting Raven. Smoke still clung to her form, but from the look of things she was unconscious. He'd have to go all out if he was going to catch her in time. Silently the changeling prayed he was fast enough.

Out of the corner of his eye, Beastboy saw Mammoth make a leap for him. The massive villain's left hand was stretched out, trying to grab him. Fortunately his timing sucked and he grabbed nothing but air. The green falcon continued his dive toward his wounded teammate. He was almost to her.

When he was within three feet of Raven, Beastboy morphed back into his human form. He reached out for the dark girl and felt a sharp pain suddenly on his left leg. Tendrils of pink energy danced around his leg, Jinx had scored a direct hit. Pushing the pain into the back of his mind, he reached for Raven once more and managed to grab her cloak.

As gently as he could he wrapped her up in his arms so her back was resting against his chest. The changeling then turned his own back towards the ground and morphed into an ankylosaurus. The dinosaur's hard shell absorbed the impact and while it hurt, at least they were both alive still. Raven nestled safely on the ankylosaurus' stomach.

Beastboy morphed back into his human form. Raven still in his grasp, although her hood was up he could see the white of her teeth as she grimaced in pain. He also noticed that her eyes were closed and that she was struggling against his grip.

"Easy Raven! It's me! You're alright!" He tried to say in a comforting tone. The dark girl must have still been out of it from the blast and thought he was an enemy grabbing her. When she heard his voice she ceased her struggling.

"Beast...boy...tagged...good..." She managed to get out.

"I know, don't speak. We got to get out of here." He reassured her. Readjusting his grip on Raven, Beastboy stood up, holding her bridal style. Quickly scanning the immediate area for escape routes he spotted an alleyway to his right. The changeling made a break for it, they needed to get out of the open. With Raven injured and him holding her, they couldn't really defend themselves from the Hive's attacks, so they had to run.

He had taken about five steps when he saw pink energy dance all across the street in front of him. Beastboy only had time to utter a curse as the ground gave beneath him and he was deposited along with Raven into the sewers below.

* * *

Jinx and Mammoth stood at the edge of the huge hole they had made in the street. Their target had disappeared into that hole about two minutes ago. The pink-haired sorceress had sent Gizmo in to scout around, see if he could find them.

"Don't worry, we got'em." Mammoth said confidently. Jinx shook her head in response.

"That's what we thought about Robin back then. I won't make the same mistake twice." She replied. The Hive leader was confused as well on why Slade had wanted Raven eliminated, but she wasn't going to question him so long as she got paid. The sound of Gizmo's jetpack reached her ears and a few moments later, the pint-sized genius flew out of the hole.

"I couldn't find a stinkin' thing in that damn sewer! It smells worse than Mammoth's armpits." Gizmo reported, pinching his nose with his fingers.

"Hey! I like to think of that as my natural musk." The big man stated, slightly offended.

"They couldn't have gone far, We're going in." Jinx ordered, leaping into the hole, Mammoth followed shortly afterwards, but Gizmo hesitated.

"No good buttlicking Titans, why couldn't they have fallen into an electronics store, why did it have to be the crud scuzzing sewers?" The pint-sized villain whined before flying back into the hole with his jetpack.

* * *

Beastboy took in a lungful of air as he broke the nasty sewer water's surface, he had his right arm wrapped around Raven's waist and he quickly checked to see if she was still okay. Her eyes were still closed and her teeth were clenched. It looked like she didn't take in any water, that was a good sign.

The changeling swam to the edge of the sewer tunnel where a concrete walkway rested along the wall. He hoisted Raven onto the walkway before pulling himself out. After taking a few moments to catch his breath he decided he needed to check Raven's wounds. Beastboy turned her onto her left side so he could get a better look at the dark girl's right shoulder.

It was bad.

The entire right sleeve of her uniform was gone, exposing her bare right shoulder. The usually grey skin was blackened and even as he looked, blood was flowing out of the hole in her right shoulderblade. The rest of Raven's right arm had several minor burns and scrapes. He would have to disinfect and bandage up the wound in her shoulderblade first before anything.

Reaching for a compartment in his silver utility belt, Beastboy pulled out a small medpack. It wasn't much, but it should have enough supplies to at least bandage his dark teammate up and stop the bleeding. He opened the medpack and went to work giving Raven what medical assistance he could.

"Damn pint-sized bastard...got me good." He heard Raven's voice say.

"You're awake." The changeling said, slightly surprised.

"Of course...I'm awake...I almost got my right shoulder blown off...hard to sleep through that..." The dark girl replied sarcastically. Beastboy smiled, hearing her snap at him gave him comfort that she was going to be okay.

"Hold still, I'm trying to patch you up." He told her. Silence followed, nothing could be heard but the sound of Raven's pained breathing and then they both heard it.

The sound of a jetpack.

"Beastboy..." Raven croaked out, Beastboy's eyebrows furrowed.

"I know, I hear it too." He responded, willing himself to move faster.

"They're looking for us...we won't be able to escape with me in...this condition." The dark Titan informed him.

"I know." He replied, letting a little annoyance leak into his tone.

"You can save yourself...if you leave me behind..." Raven told him. Beastboy glared at the back of her skull like she had just grown two heads.

"No way! Are you crazy? There's no way I'm going to do that!" He hissed at her, trying to keep his voice down to avoid detection.

"On the contrary...it's the most logical thing to do at the moment..." The dark girl responded, He hesitated.

"Raven..."

"Go!" She hissed, cutting him off. Raven coughed a few times, her body not liking that she was exerting herself right now. She heard him stand up, heard his footsteps get quieter as he moved away and then she heard nothing at all.

Raven continued to lie there, curled up on the walkway in a dirty sewer, all alone. Strangely this is similar to how she pictured her end would be when she first left Azarath, minus the sewer part. At least she had the brief pleasure of meeting people she could call friends. The dark girl would take the fond memories she had of her team and her friends to her grave. Maybe it was best this way, after all even if she did survive, in a few years the world would end anyway, all thanks to her and her damned heritage.

The cloaked Titan was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt herself being lifted. To her surprise she saw that Beastboy had returned, the changeling was carrying her on his back, piggyback style.

"Why...?" Raven asked, still in shock that he came back.

"I only left to scout the tunnels ahead and make sure the coast was clear." Beastboy replied, he turned his head so he could look her in the eye. "Are you really asking why Raven? I thought we went over this a while back."

"But, we'll never get away like this...It's common sense to have... at least one of us escape right?" She inquired, Beastboy smirked.

"To hell with common sense!" He declared. Raven shook her head slightly.

"Only you would...say that." The dark girl informed him.

"When have I ever relied on common sense Raven?" Beastboy responded jovially, but his face quickly turned serious. "I rely on my instincts and my instincts tell me to protect my friend at all costs." Raven shook her head in response, but she couldn't help, but smile, even if it was just slightly. For him to go through all this for her, it was very...touching.

"You...never cease to amaze me..." Raven confessed, leaning more of her weight on his back and relaxing slightly.

"Just hang on Raven, we'll get through this, I promise." He declared, his entire aura radiating determination. He had to evade the Hive in the sewers while carrying a wounded teammate to get to their home or his other teammates who must at least be about five miles away.

The changeling definitely had his work cut out for him.


	9. Coping with betrayal 9

**A/N: May or may not have gotten a little carried away with this chapter. Also, may or may not be a little while before the next one. I'll do what I can to update.**

**I think chapter 8 got the most reviews in one chapter in all the stories that I've written so far. Thanks for that!  
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**Review Responses  
**

**AnonReviewer - Although you are anonymous I just wanted to thank you and am glad you feel I'm doing the character's justice.  
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**Stormplains - Dialogue is actually hard for me to do, well harder than fights anyway, but it's a fun kind of difficulty.  
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**Isabel4014 - Glad you are liking the fight scenes, I'm always worried that what I see in my head won't translate as good onto text. Glad to see the transition seems rather smooth.  
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**Ludra90 - Yeah I figured it would be too easy if Beastboy and Raven got into a fight and then made amends. Had to throw a wrench in that, but don't worry it's all to tell an exciting story!  
**

**Sgt. Mehoff - Glad you like the story so far! Thanks for the review. Of course I wish I got more reviews for this story too, but I'm not too worried. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.  
**

* * *

To Beastboy's surprise, Raven was light, and he was able to carry her in his normal form easier than expected. Luckily the changeling hadn't lost his sense of direction when they were knocked into the sewers, he was currently travelling North. From the sounds his ears picked up, The Hive was behind them and they were gaining slowly on them.

The green Titan concentrated on his hearing for a moment. He heard the hum of jet engine's to the Southwest, which meant Gizmo was probably searching there. The unmistakable heavy footsteps of Mammoth sounded directly from the South. Jinx's footsteps were a little harder to pinpoint, but he finally heard the soft sound of her boots on concrete to the Southeast.

A plan began to form in Beastboy's head. There might be a way to slow the Hive down. It was risky, but Raven and him were in a bad situation, so all bets in his mind, were off.

"Raven I'm going to leave you here. I'm gonna go back and delay the bastards. Then we'll see if we can give them the slip." He informed her.

"Doesn't sound...like a good...idea..." Raven managed to croak out, he frowned she was getting worse.

"They're gaining on us anyway, if we let them all attack us at the same time again we're toast. I have to try something." He replied, setting her down in a sitting position against the wall. In another second he had morphed into a rat and was gone.

Raven sighed, she hated being so helpless, having to rely on others for assistance. But it couldn't be helped this time, she was in no condition to move, much less fight. The cloaked Titan closed her eyes and began to put herself in a healing trance. It was a huge risk, while in the trance she was completely vulnerable to attack. However, their situation really was quite dire and if Beastboy could buy her enough time, she might become a little more useful, not much, but a little.

The dark girl quickly cleared her thoughts and the healing trance soon overtook her.

* * *

Gizmo hated sewers, hated them with a passion. They stunk and smell, with who-knows-what floating in the greyish-green water. They were also like a maze and while normally the pint-sized genius wouldn't mind mazes too much. The stench of this one was enough to erase any allure.

He mentally cursed and not for the first time, why did the crud-sniffing Titans have to get knocked down here? It would have been so much easier for both parties if they would have just rolled over and died. Here, they were only delaying the inevitable and prolonging their suffering.

Something splashed into the water behind him and Gizmo instantly whirled around. He shined the flashlight near his left shoulder on the passageway behind him, but found nothing out of the ordinary. He growled in annoyance, maybe the damn smell was getting to his brain, making him hear things.

As soon as he turned around his vision was filled up with the face of a very big and very mean-looking green tiger. Before Gizmo could even scream he felt something hard slam into the left side of his torso. The pint-sized villain collided headfirst with wall and fell with a thud onto the concrete walkway.

Beastboy morphed back into his normal form, landing on the concrete walkway opposite of Gizmo's prone form. He heard the telltale signs of Mammoth's heavy footsteps bearing down on his position. Probably checking on all the commotion. Beastboy allowed himself a small smile, so far so good. He leapt into the air morphed into a gecko and climbed the wall until he was on the ceiling of the passageway. He then positioned himself right above an O-shaped corridor that bridged this passageway with another, probably Mammoth's.

He had set up at the O-shaped corridor closest to Gizmo, thinking that's the one Mammoth would use. He was proven right a few seconds later, when the large villain bounded through the corridor, directly below the changeling. Beastboy quickly morphed from a gecko to an elephant, crashing into Mammoth and smashing him facefirst into the concrete walkway with his massive weight.

The big man groaned, but was still conscious. The green Titan inwardly frowned then morphed into an ape. He smashed both of his primate fists onto Mammoth's back, the big man reared back and grunted in pain. The attack obliterating most of the walkway he was lying on. The large Hive villain lay still, at least for the moment.

Two down one to go, Beastboy peered through the O-shaped corridor and spotted Jinx in a full sprint, running towards him. The annoying smile was on her face as she waved her hands in front of her. The sewer water that her pink energy made contact with came alive like a serpent. It sprung up into the air and sped towards the changeling, slamming into his torso. The thick pillar of dirty water washed over him as it slammed him into the opposite wall of the passageway. He unceremoniously slid down the wall to land on his rump, reverting to his normal form.

"Bleh! Nasty!" Beastboy exclaimed, spitting out some of the sewer water that got into his mouth. It was a good thing the concrete walkway was there or else he would have taken another dip. Trying to take advantage of his distraction, Jinx flipped over the stream of sewer water. Gracefully she brought the heel of her right boot viscously down, aiming for the changeling's skull, but Beastboy wasn't as rattled as she thought. He dove to her right and turned his dive into a roll, ending in a crouching position about four feet from where her heel struck.

"Right back at ya!" He shouted, morphing into a skunk and spraying her right in the nose. Jinx's sense of smell was immediately filled up with the worst stench she'd ever had the displeasure of smelling. She shouted curses at Beastboy and received a kick to the gut in reply. The kick sent her into the very same stream of sewer water she had flipped over moments before.

The changeling had no time to celebrate as Gizmo had recovered and was trying to get a lock on him with a laser turret. The green Titan quickly transformed into a monkey, using the form's agility to dodge the salvo of lasers the pint-sized villain shot at him.

"Sit still you rotten pitsniffer!" Gizmo exclaimed, suddenly the green monkey stopped dodging from left to right and leapt straight at him, morphing into a mountain goat in midair. "Crud!" He managed to say before the goat's big horn's slammed into his chest. Gizmo bounced off one of the walls of the passageway before joining Jinx in the stream of sewer water.

Although Beastboy was managing quite well, the sudden appearance of Mammoth in front of him soon changed that. The big man had somehow got the drop on him and he didn't even have time to react as Mammoth's left fist made contact with his skull. Pain permeated his entire being as he was sent flying back.

Through no small amount of luck, Beastboy was able to slightly control his fall and land on the concrete walkway to his right. Of course he landed on his back instead of his feet, but at least he didn't land in the disgusting water. Upon his landing, he reverted to his normal form, holding his back in pain with his right hand while nursing a bloody nose with his left. Mammoth had got him good.

He seemed far from being done too as he was running toward the changeling at full-speed. Beastboy tried to get to his feet to dodge or counterattack, but the pain slowed him. Mammoth closed the distance between them and slammed his left foot into the green Titan's chest. Beastboy opened his mouth to scream in pain, but only a gurgle came out, he noticed a thin stream of blood had shot out from his mouth upon impact and then he was flying back once more. This time he landed facefirst on the concrete.

_Get up or die._

Beastboy heard the little voice in his head, he struggled to push his face off the ground, but the little voice was right, it was all on him, he couldn't afford to be hurt, in pain. Mammoth was dashing towards him again, an arrogant smirk on his face, this time he slammed his right foot under his chin. The force of the attack snapped Beastboy's head back, he flew head over heels, bouncing once on the concrete before landing on his side. Mammoth was taking a slower pace towards him now, sensing the end of the changeling was near.

"Got to admit, you've been quite the thorn in our side you little green runt." The massive Hive villain told him, cracking his knuckles. "But that ends today."

_Get up or die_

The little voice repeated itself, Beastboy tried to get back to his feet, but only managed to pull himself to his knees. Mammoth's slow pace was drawing him closer to melee range, he only had a few moments to spare.

"Any last words?" Mammoth asked sarcastically. His answer was a series of coughs from the changeling, the big man smiled "Oh well." He reared his massive right arm back and brought it forward in a savage punch that would surely end him.

Still Beastboy's body refused to respond to his commands. Mammoth's punches had hurt, and he had taken them in forms that weren't really designed to deal with the punishment. Time seemed to slow down for the changeling as he saw man's fist slowly making it's way towards his skull.

_Get up or die_

He grit his teeth and closed his eyes, wanting to shout at the voice in his head, he knew! Damn it! He knew! But his body was just too injured!

_Get up or Raven dies_

The slight shift in the message in his head caused him to snap his eyes back open. The sheer truth slammed into him like a sledgehammer. With only a split-second to spare before Mammoth's fist made contact with his face, Beastboy caught it with the palm of his left hand.

No one was shocked more than Mammoth, who didn't expect his punch to be stopped at all. What was worse was that the changeling was in his normal form, the punch he just threw would be hard-pressed to be blocked by even his most powerful animal forms. Yet here the green runt was in his normal form, holding his fist at bay like it was a feather.

Beastboy fixed him with a glare then. Even though no words were exchanged Mammoth understood what the glare meant. His thoughts were interrupted as the fist of a emerald sasquatch buried itself in his gut, the massive villain sputtered, a trail of saliva left his mouth as he grunted in pain. Another massive fist slammed into the right side of his skull, sending him staggering back, stars danced in his vision. When the hell had the runt learned to hit like that?

Mammoth planted his feet, stopping his backwards momentum. The sasquatch was charging towards him, roaring in fury. Even though the changeling had changed forms, the fierce glare had not. The big man knew that glare for what it was.

Beastboy was making his last stand.


	10. Coping with betrayal 10

**A/N: Here we are, another chapter finished sooner than I thought. Found a song from the "Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen" Soundtrack that inspired the battle in this chapter. The song was called "Forest Battle" I believe, only like two minutes long, but it was enough to get stuck in my head. Look it up on youtube it's a pretty good tune.  
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**For those waiting for an update to my other story "The Unsealed Truths." I'm planning it's next chapters very carefully, so it'll take longer. This story however I already know how it will end, so it was easier to update.  
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**Review Responses  
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**Stormplains - Thanks for the advice and kind words, more intense action this chapter too!  
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**Ludra90 - You probably heard "Chromatically challenged" From one of Force's(TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne) stories, who is an amazing writer. I like to give Beastboy the spotlight and make him look cool in my stories as I feel he deserves it. As for things happening to Raven, you'll just have to wait and see.  
**

* * *

Jump City sewers, normally it was very quiet, the only sound being the gentle flow of dirty water. Within it's debts sat a grey-skinned girl with purple hair, clothed in a blue cloak and a dark blue, almost-black leotard with blue boots. The right sleeve was torn, and her right arm all the way up to her right shoulder was heavily bandaged. An angry red stain near the girl's right shoulderblade indicated a serious injury.

Surprisingly enough, the girl's face was calm and serene. She was levitating a few feet above a concrete walkway, seated indian-style in midair. The fact that she was able to maintain this calmness while four super-powered beings were only a little ways away battling it out was even more surprising.

However, this girl was no ordinary teenage girl, she was Raven of the Teen Titans. Meditation and healing trances had been a part of her life since she was a little girl. Right now, she was in a healing trance, desperately trying to mend her ruined right shoulder, however time was not on her side.

As if to drive that point home, the passageway she occupied began to shake slightly. The aftereffects from a powerful attack in a battle that was being waged not far from her. Although Raven's face was still calm and serene, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, ever so slightly. Her healing trance remained uninterrupted however, and her right shoulder began to slowly mend itself.

She needed more time however, much more time. Unfortunately, time was not a luxury that neither she nor her green-skinned teammate could afford at the moment.

* * *

Beastboy in his sasquatch form struck out with his right hand, aiming for Mammoth's face. The massive Hive villain was ready however and swatted away the changeling's right hand with his left forearm. Mammoth answered back with a right fist of his own, striking the green sasquatch on it's left cheek, the force so great it snapped the changeling's head to his right.

The green Titan stumbled backwards a step and Mammoth tried to press his advantage, swinging a nasty left hook at the sasquatch's head. Instead of hearing the satisfying sound of his fist hitting flesh, his left hand passed harmlessly through the air. In the span of a single moment, the emerald sasquatch had morphed into a mule.

With a mighty kick from it's hindlegs into Mammoth's midsection, the green mule was able to knock the big man back a little ways. Mammoth growled and was about to counterattack when the mule morphed again, this time into a triceratops. The giant green dinosaur rammed into him like a freight train. The massive villain defied gravity for a few moments as he was sent flying back through the passageway.

A recovered Gizmo flew under Mammoth as he sailed past him. Momentarily distracted from having to dodge his teammate, the pint-sized genius was unaware that a green lion was about to pounce on him. The jade-colored lion sprung forth, seeking to sink it's fangs into Gizmo's left shoulder, however it's teeth bit into nothing.

Beastboy was surprised as he actually sailed THROUGH Gizmo. Too late he noticed the square device placed on the concrete walkway, emitting a hologram. He saw Jinx in front of him, a wide grin on her face and her arms spread wide. The pink-haired sorceress' hands were glowing as she fired a blast of pink energy from each of them.

The blasts hit the walls on either side of the changeling and sections of the concrete wall of the passageway burst forth. The sections sandwiched the poor green lion, which howled in pain. Quick as a cat, Jinx leapt forward and delivered a beautiful jump-kick that connected with the green lion's jaw.

Amazingly Beastboy managed to land back on his feet on the concrete walkway in lion form. He shook his head to try and clear out some of the cobwebs, just in time too, as Gizmo had thrown a silver-colored grenade at him that was shaped like a baseball. His feline eyes widened in surprise as the grenade exploded.

* * *

The explosion rocked the passageway that Raven was in. Sweat began to gather on the dark girl's forehead, but otherwise her face remained unchanged. Her healing trance still continued unabated.

* * *

Gizmo started to laugh loudly after his grenade exploded almost on top of the changeling. It didn't last long however as a green turtle was hurtled toward him from the force of the explosion. The turtle was neatly tucked into it's hardened shell, which had protected it from the grenade's explosion.

The pint-sized villain hastily changed his tech from a jetpack to it's spider-form. He used the right mechanical foreleg to swat the turtle, smacking it away to his right. The changeling found himself quickly approaching the wall opposite of Gizmo and quickly reverted to his normal form.

Beastboy righted himself in midair, landing on the wall with his feet rather than his face. For a long second the green Titan crouched against the wall and before gravity could take hold he sprung forward. Cracks spidered up the wall from where the pointy-eared changeling jumped off, he immediately morphed into an armadillo and rolled into a ball.

The green armadillo slammed into the right side of Gizmo's face like a cannonball. Beastboy thought he saw a tooth fly out as the pint-sized genius slammed into the opposite wall that he had just leapt from. Gizmo had impacted the wall with his left shoulder first, his head bounced off of it a moment later. The tiny villain crumpled to the concrete walkway in a heap.

Animal instincts quickly alerted Beastboy that Jinx was leaping at him from behind. The pink-haired sorceress twisted in the air to build momentum, ending in a spin kick that would plant the toe of her boot into the right side of the changeling's skull. It would have, if a green ape hadn't caught her foot with both of it's massive hands.

Gripping Jinx's right shin tightly, Beastboy lifted her over his head and slammed her down spine-first into the concrete walkway, just to the right of Gizmo's prone form. She cried out in pain, arching her back after the impact, her mouth and eyes wide in shock. Something big and heavy suddenly slammed into the green morphling's chest. Beastboy barely registered it was Mammoth, who had used his right shoulder as a battering ram.

The big man had slammed his shoulder right under the jade-colored ape's sternum. He then wrapped his large arms around the primate's waist and began pushing him back a few feet. Beastboy tried to halt his backwards progress, digging his feet into the floor as much as he could. Mammoth however had caught him by surprise and had dazed him with his first attack.

The massive Hive villain lifted the big green ape into the air by it's waist, raising the primate to just above his head. Mammoth then leaned forward, freeing his right hand so he could plant it onto the ground for balance. Then with his left arm still around Beastboy's waist, he slammed him down onto the concrete walkway as hard as he could.

A crater formed where the emerald-colored ape made impact. Beastboy was extremely jarred from it, his vision and hearing were very distorted. He was however, able to make out the blurry outline of Mammoth preparing to hit him once more. The changeling lashed out with his right fist, striking the big man in the face. He faintly heard the sound of cartilage snapping and Mammoth crying out in pain. His strike had knocked the big man back into the green-greyish sewer water, which splashed all over the concrete walkway, the incapacitated Jinx and an irate Gizmo.

Beastboy noticed too late that Gizmo had recovered. Before he could make a move the pint-sized villain pointed what looked like a gun in his hand at him. Instead of a laser or bullet though, two darts attached to cords shot from the gun. The darts punctured the changeling's skin near his ribs and with an evil smile Gizmo pressed a button on the side of the gun. A powerful electric current ran through the green ape which roared in agony.

* * *

The ape's roar of agony reached Raven's ears and she momentarily lost her concentration. More than anything she wanted to help, but in her current condition there was nothing she could do. Letting out a sigh to calm her rattled nerves, Raven closed her eyes and attempted to find her center once more. The best thing she could do for Beastboy right now was to try and heal herself as much and as fast as possible with the time he was buying for her.

* * *

"Suck on that snot-muncher!" The pint-sized genius exclaimed. Beastboy crashed onto his back, the impact jarred the darts out of his chest thankfully. Stars danced across his vision and he angrily shook his head to clear them out. He felt his muscles spasming all over his body and fought to get them under control. Rising back to his feet, the emerald ape was greeted by an unhappy looking Jinx lashing out with her right foot.

Jinx's kick successfully landed in his gut, doubling him over, the pink-haired sorceress immediately followed through with a left hook to the jaw. Beastboy staggered backwards, but Jinx continued her onslaught. She used the momentum from the left hook to do a complete rotation and strike out with her right foot once more in a vicious roundhouse kick. The blow was actually strong enough to twist the big green ape around.

Amazingly, Beastboy managed to stay on his feet, he twisted back around to face the Hive leader once more. The changeling was just in time to see her perform a backwards handspring, the toe of her left boot smashed against the underside of his chin. Jinx had actually hit him hard enough to lift his feet off the ground and knock him into the air. The green Titan finally reverted to his normal form and managed to right himself in the air, landing safely onto his feet in a crouching position. Blood dribbled down the right side of his lip and he quickly rubbed it away with his clenched right fist.

His plan was falling apart, He had wanted to stealthily attack the Hive and slip back into the shadows unnoticed, but the Hive was just too good. He was never able to keep all three of the villains down long enough to make his escape. Still, not all hope was lost, he still had a card to play in this game although he hated to use it.

"You've been luckier than most Beastboy, but it looks like that is running out." Jinx announced. She began walking towards the changeling slowly, stalking him, Mammoth and Gizmo regrouped, both walking behind her and one of them on each side. Beastboy spat out some blood that had collected in his mouth. To the villains' surprise he was smirking.

"Dudes, you rely too much on luck. There's more than that to determine the winner of a battle." Beastboy replied. Jinx raised an eyebrow in response.

"Such as?" The pink-haired sorceress asked.

"The desire to protect..." The green Titan answered, suddenly leaping backwards. He placed his thumb at the top of the center of his silver utility belt and his index finger at the bottom of the center. He hit two buttons simultaneously located at those positions on his belt and the center started to blink red. The changeling swiftly removed his belt and tossed it at the terrible trio. "...And the guts to back it up!" He finished.

The Hive could only stand there with surprised looks on their faces. Beastboy turned and ran, trying to get as much distance between them as he could. The belt began descending in the air, still blinking red. It was within five feet of the Hive when the self-destruct activated.

Fire engulfed the passageway and Beastboy morphed into a cheetah and ran as hard as he could to stay ahead of it. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the explosion expired. No longer being chased by the flames the changeling reverted to his normal form. Leaning against the wall for support and breathing heavily.

"Duuuuude! You think you put enough explosives in the belt Mento? Good god." Beastboy complained out loud. His former leader in the Doom Patrol had put self-destruct mechanisms in all their belts for extremely desperate situations. He thought this qualified, but he didn't think they would be this powerful, Mento really went overboard on it, probably to make sure that whatever threat the Brotherhood of Evil had presented would be destroyed utterly.

For a moment, Beastboy wondered if he had accidentally killed the Hive, but he had a feeling that they were still alive. After all he survived didn't he? Besides they were trying to kill Raven and might have killed him too if not for the bomb in his belt. The explosion had collapsed the passageway, leaving a pile of rubble. If the Hive were still alive, they would be delayed in pursuing them hopefully.

Beastboy turned and began making his way toward Raven, hopefully he could get her to the others or the very least a hospital. He had already lost one friend to betrayal, he didn't want to lose another to injuries. Morphing back into a cheetah, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

* * *

"Raven!" The sound of her name being called drew her out of her healing trance. She opened her eyes to see the familiar face of her green teammate looking at her in concern. Raven frowned as she noticed what condition Beastboy was in.

"You're hurt." She stated, The changeling had a bloody nose and lip. Various bruises covered his face and there were small rips and tears in his costume. She also noticed that his silver utility belt was missing. He flashed her what he thought was a reassuring smile.

"These injuries are nothing compared to yours." He replied, picking her back up and holding her piggyback-style. Raven felt him wince in pain slightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She had to hold her right forearm with her left hand as her right arm wasn't moving like she wanted it to. "Come on, we got to get out of here."

"What about the Hive?" The dark girl asked. Beastboy took off at a brisk pace, searching for a ladder that would lead out of the sewers and to the surface.

"I managed to delay them. It took a little work though." He answered with a small laugh.

"I never would have guessed." Raven commented in her monotone. "Are we in the clear?" The changeling shook his head slightly.

"I doubt it. My animal instincts are still going crazy, telling me there is danger close by. We need to get out of the damn sewers, it's too confined down here. At least on the surface I might be able to improvise a little better." He told her, his face brightened slightly as he finally found a ladder. "Ah, there we go. Hold on tight Raven I gotta use my hands to climb here."

Raven complied, holding onto him tight and wrapping her legs around his waist so they wouldn't dangle uselessly and add more complications for her green friend. Beastboy climbed the ladder swiftly and surely. He practically threw the manhole cover away and burst back onto the surface, the sun bathing both Titans in welcome light.

"Never thought I'd be so glad to see the sun." Raven commented, Beastboy chuckled slightly.

"Me too. Come on I think Jump City General Hospital is just a mile away. We can..." He was interrupted by the sound of someone screaming at him, someone who was very angry.

"BEASTBOY! You're dead! Do you hear me? You and your little witch friend are DEAD!" Jinx screamed angrily from behind them. Beastboy spared her a glance, She was standing about one hundred feet away, Gizmo by her side. Her left eye was clenched shut and her usually grinning mouth was snarling. Her clothes were ripped and torn and she had numerous bruises and cuts where her skin was exposed. Gizmo was likewise, in a similar condition. Mammoth was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah shit." The changeling cursed, and ran as fast as he could. Raven spared a glance at the two members behind them. Although they were pretty torn up, they looked more than ready to fight, which was not good for them. As long as Beastboy was carrying her, he wouldn't be able to properly fight back.

The cloaked Titan frowned as she pondered the grim situation. They couldn't escape and they couldn't fight back, what in the hell were they supposed to do?


	11. Coping with betrayal 11

**A/N: Been real busy, but I managed to get this done by working on it here and there throughout the week.**

**I'm happy to say that my largest story "Primal Madness" has reached over 20k views. Thanks to everyone who read it!  
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**Review Responses  
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**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it and yes I do seem to be a bit harsh on Beastboy and Raven. Surviving dire circumstances brings people closer together though right?  
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**Stormplains - Glad you love the story, the Hive are pretty resilient, I like to think of them as the Titans' rivals.  
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**Monkeysuncle1 - There is more coming yes, after this story is done I'll probably take a break before writing the next "Story Never Told" Probably work on "The Unsealed Truths" To finish up that trilogy. As for the action scenes, I enjoy writing them, I figure as superheroes the Titans won't exactly have time for the normal teenage stuff and get obstacles thrown in their path(Like the Hive trying to kill you.)  
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* * *

Jinx was angry, actually that was an understatement. Jinx was furious, this job was proving to be more trouble then she thought. Now it wasn't a matter of taking out the witch girl for money and some rep. Now she wanted them BOTH dead. They had both managed to hurt her pretty good, which meant time and money spent with a doctor to fix her and her team up. Time and money that could have been spent somewhere else. The pink-haired sorceress grit her teeth, damn those Titans, damn them to hell.

"Kill them both." Jinx ordered, Gizmo turned his attention from the retreating pair of superheroes to his leader. The pint-sized genius eyed her with concern.

"Uh you sure about that Jinx? I mean Slade only ordered us to kill the girl..." He started, but was silenced by his leader's fiery glare.

"I want both of them dead! Whatever it takes!" She snarled, her eyes glowing pink. Gizmo knew better than to hesitate, he shifted his tech into a jetpack and took to the skies. It probably wasn't in his best interest to be near Jinx at the moment. Actually, it probably wasn't in anyone's best interest to be near her.

* * *

Beastboy cursed his rotten luck. The area they were in was pretty crowded. Which meant innocents could get hurt, it also meant that if he decided to fight back, he wouldn't be able to go all out because of all of the civilians.

"Get out of here people! dangerous supervillains on the loose!" He shouted out, a few people heeded his advice and started to clear out of the street. Most however continued to gawk at him and Raven. They were commenting on how beat up they looked.

"RUN YOU MISERABLE MEATBAGS!" An ungodly voice suddenly yelled from directly behind him. Beastboy spared a glance at his passenger to see that Raven's eyes were glowing red. Her teeth had become razor-sharp fangs and was she...growling? His first instinct was to drop her and back away like she was a hot piece of charcoal, her appearance matched the one on that night she had traumatized Doctor Light. However, he managed to reign it in. Raven's demonic side was truly frightening and he wasn't sure if he'd ever get over that.

Raven's display got a reaction from the crowd however, they screamed in terror and in record time the street the two Titans were occupying was deserted.

"Sorry." Raven said quietly, her voice, eyes and teeth now back to normal. "I figured it's better to have them scared than hurt or worse." She continued, burying her face in Beastboy's left shoulder to hide it from him. The changeling licked his lips that felt suddenly very dry. He could tell the dark girl was afraid of what his reaction would be. How ironic that she had just scared the crap out of him and now she was in turn, scared of what he was going to do or say.

"Well..." Beastboy started, trying to think very carefully on what his next words would be "...I can't argue with that logic." The emerald Titan ducked into an alleyway both for cover and to hopefully lose the Hive in the maze of backalleys. However they were in the better part of downtown Jump City which meant the alleys were simpler in design then the ones near the docks. Escaping via alleys would be difficult.

"Beastboy..." Raven whispered, her breath brushing the back of his neck. "...I'm sorry."

"For what?" Beastboy asked, "Yeah okay, I admit you scared me with the devil-like thing you did back there, but it's fine. You were doing it to save lives, I get it. I don't hate you for it Raven."

"Actually I was apologizing for being a burden and having to be carried around." The cloaked Titan admitted, a smile crossing her lips. "But it's nice to know you don't hate me for going all demonic."

"I think scared stiff would be a more appropriate term." The morphling replied, "Not gonna lie I do get nervous when I see you do that."

"Don't worry, I would never use that on my friends." She told him, Beastboy didn't answer right away, Letting her words soak into his brain.

"I'll hold you to that Raven." He finally said. Raven didn't say anymore, resting her chin on his left shoulder. Beastboy didn't think it was possible, but she looked paler than usual. He needed to get her some real medical attention soon. They had to lose the Hive first though, which was proving more difficult than he originally thought. Briefly he wondered how the others were faring and if they were still having trouble with Overload and Cinderblock.

Beastboy continued to run through the alleys, he frowned as he continued, it was too quiet. The changeling's pointy ears were not picking up any noise, Which was a bad thing. Jinx and Gizmo weren't that far behind, he expected them to have attacked sooner. Where were they?

He got his answer when Gizmo and Jinx burst through the walls of the alleyway thirty feet in front of him. Gizmo came through the wall on his left, his tech in spider-form while Jinx had burst through the wall on his right. The pink villainess' teeth were clenched tight and her eyes were glowing bright pink.

"Surprise Crud-Eaters!" Gizmo called out, firing a laser blast from the turret near his right shoulder. At the same time Jinx waved her left hand from her right to her left horizontally, sending a wave of pink energy at the superhero duo. Beastboy only had moments to react.

"Hang on!" He yelled to Raven and the dark girl closed her eyes and tightened her grip on the changeling. She felt him move, felt the heat from the energy blasts and felt the smoke start to fill her lungs. The dark Titan began coughing, her body trying to expel the smoke from her body. Dimly she was aware that they were moving. Opening her eyes she was quite surprised at what she saw.

Beastboy was jumping from wall to wall, alternating from the left and right walls with each leap. He was doing it in his normal form too. Raven never knew her green teammate was so agile in his human body. He seemed to mostly rely on his animal forms in combat. That was clearly not an option while he was carrying her however. Perhaps the need to protect her and escape from danger was pushing his body to new heights? It could be possible.

The jade morphling wasn't thinking about how agile he was. He was understandably concerned with more pressing matters, like the two angry supervillains who wanted to kill his dark friend. Although he had avoided the brunt of the two attacks, he did not escape unscathed. A part of Jinx's pink energy wave had clipped him on his right hip as he made his first jump. The energy wave had ripped off a piece of his costume there, partially exposing his right hip, which was now starting to bleed. The green Titan growled in frustration, that was the last thing he needed right now, more injuries.

Beastboy landed on the left wall once more, just out of reach to grab the edge of the building's roof. He would have to make one more jump and land on the roof of the building to his right. Bending his legs, The changeling leapt for that roof.

"Incoming!" Raven alerted him, he didn't need to ask her where it was coming from, it could only be from below, where he had last seen Jinx and Gizmo. He quickly scanned below and behind him, spotting an orange laser blast heading right towards his back.

Right towards Raven, who probably couldn't take another hit in her condition.

Cursing quite loudly, Beastboy twisted in the air so that he was facing the laser blast. He leaned back as far as he could to lessen the damage, then the laser struck. It clipped him on his left shoulder and he hissed in pain, smoke emanating where the laser made contact. The blast knocked the morphling off course. Instead of landing on his feet on the building's roof like he intended, he was going to land on his head.

"Beastboy!" Raven called out, clearly in distress as they were falling quite fast towards the roof. The changeling clenched his teeth and snarled, fighting through the pain, he reached out with his right hand. His palm touched the floor of the building's roof, rather than his head. Fire seemed to lance through his right arm as it absorbed their impact, but he endured it. Hastily the emerald-skinned Titan bent his right arm slightly then straightened it. Pushing himself back into the air and performing a quick flip, landing on his feet finally. A little rougher than he originally planned, but at least they were still in one piece.

Beastboy had little time to celebrate as Gizmo flew above them in his jetpack, his turret aiming at the dark girl attached to his back. He fired, but the changeling managed to duck under the blast. It impacted the ground harmlessly a few feet in front of him. Beastboy growled once again at their current predicament, there was no more avoiding it, he needed to morph if they were going to have a chance, but it would be difficult to do some of his forms while carrying Raven. It was time to improvise.

"Don't kill me for this Raven." He said to his teammate quickly before morphing into a sasquatch, grabbing the dark girl by her cloak and flinging her straight into the air. Her outraged scream filled his ears and if the situation wasn't so grim he would have found it quite humorous.

Not wasting a moment, the changeling morphed into a stegosaurus. Striking out with his massive tail, he scored a direct hit on the tiny villain, knocking him back down into the alleyway with a loud crash. As soon as Beastboy's tail made contact with Gizmo, Jinx appeared on his left. The pink-haired villain leaping onto the edge of the roof, with a wave of her hands she hit his left flank with a burst of pink energy, toppling his huge form onto it's right side.

With no way to get back up on his feet quickly as a stegosaurus, Beastboy quickly reverted to his normal form. He stood up, preparing to dodge Jinx's next attack, when a sudden spike of pain jolted through his left side. The changeling quickly fell back to his knees, holding his left side. He'd been hit harder than he thought.

"Die!" Jinx shouted, making a vertical chopping motion with her right hand. Sending a large pink energy wave about three feet wide and twelve feet high across the rooftop, straight towards the morphling. The energy wave was about six feet from Beastboy when he felt a familiar cold sensation cover him. Suddenly he was yanked into the air just slightly above and a little to the left of Jinx's blast.

Beastboy's surprise quickly ceased when he felt the familiar arms of Raven wrap around his collarbone from behind. Her hands still glowing black from using them to lift him out of harm's way.

"Nice save." He told her, she gave the slightest of nods in response and Beastboy returned his attention to Jinx. If he was fast enough when he landed he could launch a counterattack. "Hold on tight I'm morphing into a horse." He informed his dark teammate.

True to his word, Beastboy morphed into a horse as soon as his feet touched the ground. Raven managed to keep her grip on his neck as he galloped toward a surprised Jinx. When he reached melee range with the pink-haired sorceress he reared up and kicked out with both of his forelegs. Jinx managed to cross her arms in front of her just in time, but the horse's powerful legs were enough to knock her off the roof's edge. She slammed into the wall of a building next to the one they were occupying before falling into the alleyway below.

Immediately Beastboy reverted to human form and made his way to the building's fire escape. Running down the steel steps as fast as he could. While he was doing this the green Titan took in his surroundings. The fire escape would drop him into a simple alley with only two paths, both led out into main streets. It made him nervous as there was still Mammoth who was unaccounted for. Being out in the open was not an ideal situation, but he had no other option.

With a choice of going to his left or right, Beastboy chose his left, it was closer to the open street and the sooner he got past the street and back into the relative safety of the alleys, the better. He was halfway across the street when an angry grunt to his left caught his attention. Looking down the street, he saw an enraged Mammoth, hefting a bus in each hand. The changeling sighed, well at least all the Hive members were accounted for now.

Mammoth wasted no time, flinging both buses at the superhero pair. One was just barely above the ground, it's tires only a foot from touching the pavement. The other was right above the first one, coming in sideways. They were approaching too fast, time seemed to slow down for Beastboy as he examined the two buses. He spotted a small gap in between them, right above the first one and below the second. He mentally cursed, it was going to be close.

Telling Raven to hold on tight, Beastboy started to run towards the incoming buses. He leapt into the air and positioned himself horizontally in the air, completely parallel with the street. He slid through the narrow gap between the buses, two tons of steel whizzed by above and below him. Raven had her eyes closed as she held on for dear life. Then it was over, the buses were past them and Beastboy landed safely back on his feet. The buses finally crashed together behind the two Titans, the sound of metal crunching together ringing in their ears.

Beastboy spared a quick glance at Mammoth who was shocked that the buses had missed and then the changeling was gone, Raven in tow. He was running for the nearest alley, trying to get as much distance from the massive villain as possible. He was almost to the alley when something struck his left foot, he cried out in pain and fell facefirst into the concrete. His impact jarred Raven from off his back and she fell onto her back in front of him, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop.

"Raven!" Beastboy called out, dragging his body closer to his fallen teammate. "Raven! You okay?" Raven responded with a groan of pain, she was lying on her right side, facing Beastboy.

"Yeah...I'll be okay." She replied to him. Beastboy tried to get to his feet, but his left foot protested, he yelped in pain and and fell back into a crouching position.

"That won't last." Jinx interrupted, her eyes and hands glowing pink as she walked towards them. "I guarantee it. Your miserable lives end here."

"Damn it." Beastboy cursed, there was nothing left he could do. Raven and him were at the end of their rope. The Hive was going to win.


	12. Coping with betrayal 12

**A/N: Oh noes! I got carried away again! Was trying to keep the chapters short, but I couldn't help myself with this one! Enjoy!  
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**Review Responses  
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**Stormplains - Hope you enjoyed my other stories. Cliffhangers are indeed fun! Though some readers might not agree with me. If you do them right, you can get people excited for more. Unfortunately I have never seen bionicle, sorry.  
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**MelonLord28 - Yeah the Hive are indeed resilient, I always make characters(btw don't own Teen Titans and all that) in my stories take some beatings. I must be a terrible person!  
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**Monkeysuncle1 - Your hopes were not in vain! Here's the next chapter for you.  
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**Emmagination - Glad you think my story is awesome! I worked hard on it to make it entertaining.  
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**Moongrl088 - Unfortunately this story takes place in Season Two. After the episode "Betrayal" but before the Second Season's Finale. So the Beast hasn't made it's first appearance yet. However that doesn't mean all is lost! Read on to see!  
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**Guest - Accidentally deleted the email that had your name on it, Sorry :( but thanks for the reviews! I try to make Beastboy more mature in my stories, but I'm glad that I can make his dialogue interesting. I'm always a little nervous with the action scenes, thinking that I don't describe them well enough. It's good to hear that I do though. Hopefully I can keep churning out awesome chapters(and stories.)  
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**A big Thank You to everyone who reviewed and keeps reviewing!  
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* * *

_Doom Patrol HQ Training Room. __Two years ago._  


Beastboy struggled to bring himself to his knees, but he just couldn't. His body felt so heavy and he was pretty sure every inch of his body was protesting in pain. He looked up to see Mento, his leader looking at him with a frown of disapproval.

"I can't...I can't get up anymore sir..." The thirteen year-old changeling said.

"Nonsense Beastboy you're just feeling sorry for yourself." Mento Replied, Beastboy took a few breaths, sweat was dripping from the tip of his nose onto the mat. The mask he used for missions laying in a chair in the corner of the room. The walls, made from grey brick, made the place seem more like a dungeon than a training room.

"My lungs are burning and my arms and legs feel like they weigh tons, I literally can't move. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME SIR!" The changeling shouted the last part. Mento's face remained stoic.

"So you don't have energy to stand, but you have energy to yell at me?" Mento asked.

"My mouth doesn't help me move in case you haven't noticed sir." Beastboy answered bitterly.

"But it does annoy your superior." Mento shot back. The changeling let out a frustrated sigh. "It's true, I can see you are at your limit, however the Doom Patrol can't afford to have limits. Millions of lives count on us to keep them safe, most don't even know it."

"That's good and all sir, but as awesome of a human being as I am, I'm still human. You've put me through the ringer, am I supposed to try and trick my brain into thinking my body isn't fatigued at all? Because let me tell you, it's not working." The youngest Doom Patrol member informed the elder man. Mento shook his head.

"No nothing like that, you need to have proper motivation." The Doom Patrol leader told him.

"Proper motivation? I'm pretty sure trying not to get my butt kicked by you is proper motivation for me to fight sir." Beastboy replied. Mento was silent for a few moments as he regarded the changeling. For a moment Beastboy thought he had won an argument for once and then Mento spoke once more.

"What is our motto?" He questioned, Beastboy sighed.

"Whatever it takes." The changeling droned.

"Do you know why that's our motto?" Mento asked. Beastboy rolled his eyes.

"To save the world duh." The young green superhero answered.

"That's only part of the reason. The other is that every member of this team has someone precious that they want to protect. Someone who would be negatively affected by the Brotherhood of Evil and other villains' schemes. For these people, these loved ones, the Doom Patrol will do whatever it takes to keep them safe." Mento explained, pointing his right index finger at Beastboy. "You are the exception, you don't have anything precious that you want to defend and in turn you are unable to go above and beyond and show your true strength."

"Everyone precious to me is gone." The changeling stated sadly, the unwelcome image of his parents in the doomed boat popped up in his head and he felt a pang of bitterness. Mento crossed his arms.

"As long as you don't have that desire to protect something important, you won't realize your true potential. Find that something Beastboy." The Doom Patrol leader said sternly. He turned and exited the training room, leaving the changeling to dwell on what he said.

* * *

_Jump City, Present Day._

The memory of that time came out of nowhere for Beastboy as he continued glaring helplessly at Jinx. The pink-haired sorceress was powering up an attack that would finish him and Raven off for sure. With his left leg injured and Raven fast approaching critical condition, they were out of options. Their fate was in Mammoth and Jinx's hands.

"You superheroes are so lame. Sitting in your little Tower and defending these pathetic wretches that inhabit the city." Jinx said to the changeling.

"Lame huh?" Beastboy responded, matching her glare. "And what about you? What are you trying to be? Some great supervillain? The kind that would give the Justice League pause?" He laughed bitterly, causing Jinx to frown.

"What's so funny?" She demanded, Beastboy continued chuckling for a few moments before answering.

"Where do you think that will lead? Are you going to skulk around in hidden hideouts with the darkness as your only companion like Slade? Is that what you really want in life?" The changeling questioned. Causing Jinx to pause, his words stopping her as a new perspective was laid out in her brain. Was this really what she wanted?

Jinx was interrupted by Mammoth swooping in and grabbing the injured Beastboy by his throat with his left hand. He lifted the changeling high until his feet were dangling uselessly in the air. Beastboy glared coldly at the solidly built villain, who grinned in response.

"Say good night chump." Mammoth told him and then slammed his right fist into Beastboy's face. The blow was so powerful that it knocked the changeling over one hundred feet back. He crashed spine-first onto the trunk of a car and spilled onto the street, lying facedown and sporting a nasty gash on his forehead. Blood began to spill onto the road, forming a small pool of blood. The changeling's eyes were closed and his body was unmoving.

"Beastboy! Beastboy get up!" Raven screamed, trying to drag herself to her fallen companion, but she was in too much pain. Mammoth smiled and turned towards Jinx.

"Don't listen to him boss." The large villain said to her. "He's just saying a bunch of junk to distract you."

"Yeah." Jinx replied simply. Pushing the conflicting thoughts from her mind, the pink-haired sorceress began charging up her attack once more. She had lost concentration when Mammoth jumped in and had to start all over, a little frustrating, but the job was about to be completed all the same. Raven meanwhile had stopped calling out to Beastboy, she turned a fiery glare at the two supervillains.

"You two will pay for this!" The dark Titan vowed. Jinx allowed herself a small smile.

"Maybe, but you won't live to see it." The Hive leader replied coldly.

* * *

He could see nothing, Beastboy was surrounded in nothing but darkness. The changeling rose to his knees, looking around frantically for something, anything but the blackness.

"Hello? Somebody? Anybody?" He called out, his voice echoed and then there was silence. After a long pause, his pointy ears picked up footsteps, they were coming from right in front of him. The veil of darkness parted to reveal a very familiar looking blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. "Terra?" He asked, confused. She glared at him.

"You said you'd be my friend no matter what remember?" She said in an accusatory tone. Very different from when he had heard it that night at the abandoned amusement park. Before the changeling could formulate a reply in his head, Terra turned so that her back was facing him and walked back into the darkness. She let it engulf her.

"Wait Terra!" He yelled, reaching out with his right hand, but it was useless, Terra was already gone. Something clicked in Beastboy's mind then.

She was gone. Terra was gone and she wasn't coming back.

These words sunk into his brain.

_As long as you don't have that desire to protect something important, you won't realize your true potential._

He recalled Mento's words that day two years ago. He had thought Terra was the important person that he was supposed to protect, but she had betrayed him. She had chosen to ally herself with their arch-nemesis Slade. So who was it? if it wasn't Terra, then who was the person he considered the most important to him?

"Beastboy." A raspy voice said from behind him, he stood up and turned to see none other than Raven emerge from the shadows. Her hood was down and she was staring intently at him with her violet eyes.

"Raven?" He asked, surprised at the turn of events.

"You mean a lot to me, the thought of losing that bond with you is..." She started to say, but stopped. Beastboy noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears. It was that same look she had at Bixby's he realized. Right before the Hive ambushed them.

The ground suddenly began to shake violently and the green Titan was forced to struggle to keep his balance. Raven wasn't as lucky, she fell onto her knees, her palms touching the "Floor" of the darkness that surrounded them. From out of the darkness four red eyes suddenly began to glow. The eyes were directly behind the cloaked girl. Beastboy saw them and his face paled.

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed. The four eyes moved forward and from the shadows emerged the giant red demon they had fought in Raven's mind just one year ago. The giant demon roared in rage, it thrust it's right fist forward, seeking to crush the dark girl with it. Raven wasn't even aware that something was behind her, she was still trying to pick herself up from the ground.

"NOOO!" Beastboy screamed, dashing forward as fast as he could. He clenched his teeth, would he make it in time? Could he make it in time? His eyebrows furrowed in determination. He had to make it in time, he WOULD make it in time!

Beastboy barely made it in time, diving in front of Raven's back, the fist hit less than half a second later, striking him right in the torso. The blow was so powerful it felt to the changeling like he was being crushed. What was even more powerful though was the realization that dawned on him as soon as the demon's fist connected.

* * *

The changeling's eyes snapped open suddenly, the giant red demon's fist had hit him so hard it had jarred him awake. He carried the realization from that dream to the waking world with him though. Beastboy mentally berated himself for not realizing it sooner. Dragging himself to his knees, his right hand accidentally touched the small pool of blood from the gash on his forehead. Smearing it on the concrete and the dented trunk of the car as he used the same hand to brace himself against the vehicle.

Raven had become the thing he wanted to protect the most.

It should have been obvious to him. The way he was fighting so hard to keep her safe from the Hive. The way he had pushed himself. Even if she didn't feel the same way, Raven was the most important person to him now. Peeking out from behind the car he saw that Jinx was powering up a huge blast of energy. A blast that would surely obliterate the cloaked girl.

Beastboy quickly took inventory of his condition, his left leg protested almost any kind of movement. Everything hurt, and blood from the gash on his forehead was starting to trail down his nose and lips, dripping down from his chin. His body could probably handle one or two more morphs at this point, but after that he would be spent.

The changeling growled, none of the forms he had available would be enough to defeat the remaining two Hive members. Oh sure, he could prolong the battle, but in the end the result would be the same. Raven and him would be dead. There was only one chance, Beastboy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on the transformation as much as possible.

Last time he had attempted this was when he was still with the Doom Patrol. He was hospitalized for a week. Elasti-Girl had forbidden him from ever trying to do it again, fearing for his safety. Safety was the least of his concerns at the moment though.

Beastboy took another deep breath and concentrated on morphing into a dragon.

While his body could morph into any known animal that had lived on the planet. Including extinct ones, morphing into mythic creatures was something entirely different. His body didn't like trying to readjust his DNA into something that wasn't technically there. It causes a huge strain on his body to even try it. The changeling was determined however, he knew he could do it, he just had to trial and error it more.

As soon as he felt his body start to change, Beastboy felt a sudden jolt of pain permeate through his entire body. He toppled over, bracing himself with his hands on the floor to hold himself up. He then proceeded to vomit out blood which joined the small pool that was already there. Once he finished his vomiting spell, Beastboy slammed his fists into the ground in frustration, cracks formed in the concrete where his fists hit.

"Damn it!" He cursed. "Come on you stupid body! You can do this!" Despite being wracked with pain, Beastboy closed his eyes and tried to morph once again. The pain was excruciating, but he fought through it. "Come on! COME ON!" Standing slowly to his feet, he began to feel himself morphing although his body fought him every step of the way. He roared in defiance of his own body and morphed further. His right leg began to grow scales and his foot stretched out into talons, His left arm bulged, and became more muscular, his fingers sharpening into claws. His right eye's sclera became black and the iris became slitted, like a snakes.

Even his voice changed, becoming more distorted and deeper. Beastboy continued to roar into the skies in a mixture of agony and triumph.

* * *

Jinx couldn't finish the witch girl off, every time she thought she was going to bring her hands forward to reduce the cloaked bitch to ashes she hesitated, why was she hesitating? Mammoth noticed her hesitation, he frowned at the pink-haired sorceress.

"What's wrong boss?" He asked her. Jinx didn't answer him, instead she snarled in frustration. The changeling's earlier words played through her head, the question that formed in her head was quiet, but it was persistent. It kept asking her if this was what she really wanted, what a stupid question, of course this was what she wanted! Wasn't it?

"Nothing." Jinx replied to her teammate, "Just savoring the moment." Raven had managed to bring herself to a sitting position, using her left hand to hold herself upright.

"Looks like you're getting cold feet to me." The dark Titan said in her trademark monotone. Mentally she was anything, but calm. She was much too weak to defend herself from the two supervillains. Jinx sneered at her.

"Hardly." The Hive leader replied, "The only thing that's going to get cold around here..." She growled, bringing her hands forward to deliver the fatal blast, "...Is your CORPSE!" She finished. However, before she could fire the blast an ungodly roar was heard by the three super-powered beings. Losing concentration, Jinx's spell once again fizzled out.

"What...was that?" Mammoth questioned, looking quite nervous. He got his answer a few moments later when a green blur suddenly sped towards them.

"Raven...DUCK!" The blur spoke in the voice of Beastboy, although the voice was so distorted that the dark Titan could barely recognize it. Nonetheless she heeded her teammate's advice and quickly moved into a prone position, a moment later the green blur sped past her, heading straight for Jinx and Mammoth.

The pair of supervillains were caught completely by surprise. A green scaly arm, rippling with muscle swiped at them in a wide horizontal arc. Mammoth took the brunt of the swipe, the claws of the arm opening up three large diagonal gashes across his chest. The claws continued on and cut into Jinx's stomach. Fortunately for the pink-haired sorceress the cuts weren't too deep. Unfortunately for both of them, the slash was so strong it created a shockwave that sent the pair of villains flying back. They landed back on the street over two hundred feet back, kicking up a huge cloud of dust upon their landing.

Raven stood there in complete astonishment as the blur faded back into a not-so-familiar form of her green friend. Half of Beastboy's limbs were green and scaly, he looked like he was in the middle of a morph, he looked like a monster.

"Beastboy?" She called out tentatively. The half-morphed Beastboy, who's back was turned to the dark girl turned his head so he could look at her with his slitted right eye. Raven nearly recoiled.

"Stay back!" He yelled, she was about to reply when she noticed movement from the cloud of smoke where the Hive impacted. The thin figure of Jinx stepped through the cloud, clutching her stomach with her left arm. Her left eye was still shut and a thin stream of blood dribbled down the right side of her mouth.

"Just couldn't stay down could you? You stupid green freak!" She yelled at him, her eyes glowing an angry pink. Beastboy saw that she was gathering energy, he had to complete his transformation now.

Once more he concentrated and was instantly assaulted with pain from his body. He cried out and fell to his knees, digging his hands into the ground. Every single cell felt like it was on fire, but he ruthlessly pushed on. His vision was starting to blur and he felt himself starting to get lightheaded, but through it all he persisted. Finally he could feel the telltale signs of a transformation taking hold. He looked up at Jinx, his eyes burning with determination.

"I won't let you TOUCH HER!" He shouted and with that he began to grow. His growth easily making him dwarf the pink-haired sorceress. Wings sprouted from his back and his face elongated into a maw filled with razor sharp teeth. His remaining limbs and torso grew scales and muscle to match his new size. Finally, a long tail sprouted from his back.

The transformation was finally complete. Beastboy had successfully morphed into a dragon.

As the green dragon roared to the heavens, Raven could only stand there in awe. For once she was rendered speechless.

"Beautiful." Was the only way the dark girl could describe the majestic creature before her. Jinx was also in awe, but for a very different reason.

"Holy shit..." The pink-haired villain managed to breathe out. The green dragon fixed it's eyes on her, reared it's head back and opened it's mouth wide. Jinx's eyes widened, she knew what was coming next. The dragon suddenly threw it's head forward and shot a huge fireball from it's mouth.

Jinx shouted out a curse and waved her right hand, creating a horizontal pink energy wave that struck the giant fireball before it could reach her. Her intention was to detonate the fireball prematurely and lessen the damage, but she underestimated how powerful a dragon's fireball could be.

The Hive leader did indeed detonate the fireball prematurely, but the resulting explosion was so powerful it rocketed Jinx back like she'd been hit by Superman. She ended up crashing onto the hood of a car over three hundred feet away, denting it heavily. There she lay, her unconscious form splayed out, her clothes charred from the close proximity of the flames.

The emerald dragon let out a roar of triumph before shrinking back into the familiar form of Beastboy. The changeling fell to his knees, his arms limply hanging at his sides. He stared at the area that Jinx had landed and let a weary smile cross his lips.

"And stay down..." He said quietly before faceplanting into the street. He dimly heard the sound of Raven calling his name before the last shreds of his consciousness were ripped from him.

* * *

**A/N: Only one or two chapters left!**


	13. Coping with Betrayal 13

**A/N: A little later than usual, but here it is, the final chapter of the 'Coping with Betrayal' Arc. I do have an epilogue in mind, but it looks like it might take me awhile to find some spare time to write it. I may do another SNT(Story Never Told) in the future, but it will be awhile. I would like to concentrate my efforts on my other story now "The Unsealed Truths" check it out if you haven't yet.  
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**Review Responses  
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**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - The infirmary seems a long way away for poor Beastboy and Raven, but I have a feeling they'll be getting some help.**

**Stormplains - Yeah this takes place before Malchior and the Beast. I like to think of dragons as a more fantasy creature and I know eventually in the comics he is able to morph into mythical things like a phoenix and such. But for this story he is younger and more inexperienced so I figured at this point those kinds of transformations would be heavily taxing, plus yeah, in Beastboy's mind, dragon's don't exist(at least not yet!).  
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**Phyllis - The wait is over! next chapter is here!  
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* * *

For once, Beastboy did not have some crazy dream or vision nor was he tormented with images of Slade and Terra. The changeling felt at peace with himself, something that felt foreign to him. He was going to enjoy it nonetheless.

Slowly he drifted back to consciousness. As his eyelids opened and he was reintroduced to the world he was greeted by the fact that everything hurt. His head, his chest, his legs, even his fingers and toes hurt. Beastboy found himself staring at the ceiling of the Tower's infirmary.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Cyborg said to him, the green Titan moved his head to his left to see his metal buddy typing away at the console.

"How long have I been out?" Beastboy asked weakly, barely able to get his voice above a whisper.

"Raven and you have been out for about twenty-five hours approximately." The bionic Titan answered. "We managed to finally take out Cinderblock and Overload and came to help you guys." Cyborg stopped typing at the console and swiveled his chair to face the changeling. "You both were in bad shape. If we hadn't of got to you when we did, Raven might not have survived. It's a miracle we got her stabilized."

Beastboy's eyes locked onto the bed to his left. Behind Cyborg lay Raven, she was dressed in a simple white gown and various bandages were wrapped around her body. Upon closer inspection, Beastboy realized that Raven wasn't lying on the bed itself, she was floating a few inches above it. A peaceful expression was on the dark girl's face, the changeling relaxed, seeing that she looked okay.

"She's going to be fine now right?" Beastboy asked his friend, Cyborg gave a tired smile and for the first time the morphling noticed the dark circles under his human eye.

"Yeah, but it was real iffy most of the night. There were times I thought I wouldn't be able to save her, but she pulled through. Started doing that weird floating thing you're seeing now. She's a tough girl." Cyborg answered, Beastboy gave his friend a small smile.

"Thanks Cyborg."

"Hey she's my friend too B. Wasn't about to let her die on my watch."

"The Hive. They were after her, I think Slade hired them or something. Managed to finally beat them by morphing into a dragon."

"Say what?" Cyborg exclaimed, pointing his right index finger at Beastboy. "Since when can you morph into a dragon?" The changeling chuckled, which turned into a few coughs.

"Since yesterday apparently." The green superhero finally replied after he finished coughing. Cyborg rubbed his chin as he delved into his thoughts.

"So are we going to see you flying around as a dragon all the time now?" The metallic Titan questioned, Beastboy groaned in response.

"Definitely not. Morphing into imaginary or fantasy creatures is a huge strain on me. I don't think I'll be doing that again." He answered his half-machine friend. Cyborg swiveled his chair once more and returned his attention back to the console. The sounds of his typing once again filled the changeling's ears.

"Yeah man, when I was examining you, the list of injuries I got was staggering. Strained muscles, some internal bleeding, and a few cracked ribs just to name a few. You really got put through the ringer." The metallic superhero stated.

"Dude, you have no idea how determined the Hive were to get us. I managed to piss off Jinx pretty bad, you should have seen it. If looks could kill I would have been in the morgue." Beastboy told him, Cyborg laughed loudly as he continued typing away.

"Man I would have paid to see her smug face contorted in rage." The bionic Titan said to his green friend.

"Yeah it was classic." Beastboy closed his eyes. "I owe you one Cy." The metallic superhero stood up from his chair and made his way to the exit.

"That's what friends are for B. If you really feel like paying me back though, there's a nice big fat juicy ham sandwich in the fridge I'd like you to eat." Cyborg said, smiling mischievously. Beastboy's eyes snapped back open and he made some wretching noises.

"Ugh. That's cruel and unusual punishment Cy." The changeling remarked, Cyborg just chuckled as he reached the exit.

"I'm going to go tell the others about your improving conditions. I also need to inform Robin that the Hive may still be at large. Though I suspect they will be laying low and licking their wounds like we're doing right now." The exit door hissed as it opened. "Make sure to get plenty of rest BB. I'll have a nice meat lover's pizza waiting for you tonight." The bionic Titan informed him, closing the exit door and leaving Beastboy alone to dwell on his last words.

"Lousy no good, meat-eating bucket of bolts." Beastboy grumbled, he soon found he was too exhausted to even continue complaining though and sleep overtook him.

* * *

The gold rays of the setting sun roused the changeling from his slumber. Sweat coated his body as he shifted slightly on the bed. It seemed way too hot in the infirmary at the moment, was the damn air conditioning broken? As Beastboy began looking around he gazed over in Raven's direction, to find a pair of violet orbs gazing right back. Seeing the dark girl awake surprised him a little bit, but the surprise was soon followed by relief.

"Hey." Beastboy said to her, although she was slightly paler than usual, she looked like she was okay. Tired, fatigued and slightly miserable from aches and pains, but nothing life endangering.

"Hey yourself." She replied in a quiet monotone.

"How are you feeling?" He inquired, Raven groaned and looked away from him for a moment, closing her eyes.

"Been better." She croaked out. "I think that's the best sleep I've had in awhile. Pretty sad isn't it?"

"You know, if you're having trouble getting some rest, I hear sleeping pills work wonders. Way better than getting thrashed by supervillains I hear." Beastboy joked, Raven's lips curved upwards in a smile for an instant before vanishing.

"I guess I'll have to look into that." She responded, turning to look at him once again. "How about you? Everything okay?" Beastboy got the feeling she was asking not just about his physical well-being, but his emotional and mental well-being too. Before the Hive had attacked, they were getting into a really deep conversation.

As Beastboy looked within himself for answers, he found that he had changed in just a few short days. The pain of Terra's betrayal had dulled, his admiration for Raven had increased and his mind didn't feel like a chaotic mess anymore. He felt a sense of peace, not fully of course, but he felt more sure of himself now. With time, he would bounce back from these events, he was sure of it.

"Nothing that won't heal." He finally answered the dark girl genuinely, smiling brightly. Raven found that Beastboy's smile and the intensity of his gaze caught her off-guard, he truly meant what he said. Seeing the confidence and determination in Beastboy's eyes was strange, but in a good way. It suited him better than the sorrowful expression he had been wearing after Terra's betrayal. Raven suddenly felt heat rise in her cheeks and she looked away so Beastboy couldn't see her blush.

"I never got to thank you." Raven said. "You went above and beyond to keep me safe. No one's ever done that for me before."

"Yes they have, Cyborg and I helped you fight that giant demon thing in your mind a year ago." Beastboy replied.

"That was different, eventually I was able to defeat my rage and suppress it." She turned to look at Beastboy again. "What happened with the Hive, that was the first time I've ever been unable to defend myself and it scared me. But you were there, risking your life to protect me. Protecting a girl that you've haven't exactly been on the best terms with. You deserve my gratitude." Raven finished, the sincerity of her tone left Beastboy a little embarrassed, he chuckled slightly and felt himself blush a little.

"Ah it was nothing Raven. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, any one of them would have done the same thing." He told her, trying to downplay his heroism.

"It's different with you though." Raven responded, the changeling looked at her questioningly.

"It is? How so?" He asked her, the dark girl faltered a little.

"I'm not sure." She admitted, "But it is."

Awkward silence reigned over the infirmary for a few moments before Beastboy finally decided to break it.

"Let's make a promise Raven." The changeling stated.

"A promise?" The dark Titan asked.

"Yeah, lets promise that no matter what happens, no matter how mad we get at each other, that we'll always be friends."

"What brought this on?"

"I think to some extent we'll always butt heads, but if we ever stopped being friends that would really...uh, would really be...I mean it would just really suck you know?"

"Yeah I think I do."

"So what do you say? Want to make a promise to forever be friends with a green stud who has a charming personality and a heart of gold?" Beastboy inquired, Raven stared at him with a stoic expression for a moment before answering.

"Omit that first part and you got a deal." She said to him, a small smile on her face. The green Titan smiled back. Silence once again reigned in the infirmary as the two young teens decided to stare at the ceiling and collect their thoughts, fortunately this silence was a comfortable one.

Beastboy felt his heart swell with hope. Perhaps this was the start of something special with Raven and him? He had to admit he was intrigued with the idea of finding out who the real person was underneath the dry remarks and cold stares.

"Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"Up for some Tofu eggs?"

"Sure if you want to add 'Poisoning' to my list of ailments." She responded dryly. Beastboy winced, looks like he had quite the uphill battle to go through. He stole a quick glance at the dark girl and saw the small content smile on her face as she continued to gaze at the ceiling. The changeling smiled to himself. Yes quite the uphill battle, but the reward could be well worth the challenge.

THE END

(For now.)


	14. Cycle of Hatred 1

A solitary statue of a girl no older than fifteen stood in a large and expansive cavern. In front of the statue rested a bouquet of flowers and a plaque which read "Terra, a Teen Titan, a True Friend." The last thing in front of the statue wasn't really a thing, it was a person, with green skin and pointy ears. He was gazing upon the statue with a look of gentle sadness.

It had been two weeks since Terra's sacrifice. Had Beastboy been asked back then whether he thought things would come to this he would have laughed in that person's face. Funny how life always threw unexpected and harsh situations at the unwary. He had only known Terra for a few months and in that time they went from strangers, to good friends, to hated enemies and managed to repair their friendship right before the geomancer had to sacrifice herself so that a volcano didn't take out half of Jump City.

A small smile appeared on the changeling's face, at least he had a chance to reconcile with her before the end. Having the last thoughts of a person before their end be of bitterness and regret would wreck havoc on a person's mental health and he was no exception. It was a small consolation, but at least Terra went to her grave knowing she had friends, people who cared for her.

"Should I ask how long you've been down here?" A familiar monotone asked from behind him, Beastboy smiled at the sound of her voice. Good old Raven, always checking up on him.

"I don't know actually, lost track of time." He replied, turning to face his gray-skinned teammate. Raven's hood was down at the moment and her face was it's normal neutral expression. Only her eyes betrayed what she was feeling, there was a curiosity in them and a slight amount of concern.

"That figures." Raven responded, turning her attention to Terra's statue. "This is the fourth time in two weeks that you've come down here, what do you think about when you look at her?"

"Oh a lot of things." Beastboy replied, when he saw Raven's skeptical look he placed his hands on his chest and gave her his best mock-offended look, "Hey I do!" The green Titan turned back to face Terra's statue, the peaceful look back on his face. "I think about what was, what has happened...and what will be."

"What will be?" Raven repeated, her curiosity getting the better of her. Beastboy looked back at her with a bright smile.

"Yeah! You know, like where we'll be in the next few years." He clarified. "Hopefully in a few years I'll be a totally awesome superhero, one that inspires through action and sets an example for those that will come after." The changeling paused for a moment. "And Supergirl would totally be my girlfriend and love veggie burgers."

"Totally huh?" Raven inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Totally." He confirmed turning to give her a toothy grin. "What about you Raven? do you ever think about the future?"

She was taken aback by his sudden question. If only her green friend knew just how much she thought about the future. A future where fire filled the sky and the land was shattered beyond recognition, courtesy of her father. With Beastboy's question, Raven realized that she only had about two years left before this inevitable outcome.

Beastboy immediately picked up on his cloaked friend's darkening demeanor. He let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand.

"Forget I said anything." He told her.

"Let's just say I don't like thinking ahead too much." She replied gravelly, Beastboy nodded.

"Well the good thing about the future is that it's not set in stone, anything can happen between now and then. It's so unpredictable." He said to her. His words filled Raven's ears, maybe he was right, maybe the prophecy wouldn't come true and she would be free to live her life. The only question was what kind of life did she want to live? The sound of Beastboy's feet shuffling drew her out of her thoughts as he turned to face the statue again. "So what brings you here? besides dying to hear my awesome wit and bask in my supercharming aura?"

"I was going to go with dull wit and superinflated ego, but I digress." The gray sorceress teased. "Robin wants us all back at the Tower for training, apparently he's thought of some new things he wants to try." Raven informed him, Beastboy groaned.

"Duuuude, not more training, don't we get enough exercise fighting bad guys?" The green morphling complained. Raven shrugged and turned to leave.

"It never hurts to improve your skills, you never know when they will truly be tested." Raven replied sagely. "Anyways we should head back, training will be starting soon." Beastboy hesitated, he wasn't ready to leave, not quite yet.

"Go on ahead I'll catch up to you." He called out, when he heard Raven's footsteps stop, he sighed. "I'll be okay Raven, don't worry..."

"Beastboy, you have to let go." She said quietly, almost timidly. The changeling let out a small laugh, for all their differences it was amazing how much they could be on the same wavelength at times.

"I know Raven that's what I'm doing right now, but I just need a little bit more time. I promise I'll be right behind you." He reassured her, the dark girl hesitated.

"I could stay if you want." She offered, he smiled at that. Raven and his friendship was rapidly growing, she never would have offered to stay a few months ago, how things change.

"Thanks, I appreciate that, I really do, but this is something I can only do alone." He responded, Raven stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"I understand." She told him. "But if you aren't at the training session I will come back and drag you out of here by one of your little pointy ears if I have to." Beastboy chuckled.

"Getting frisky huh? I can dig that." He said mischievously, Raven's eyes narrowed at him.

"Scratch that I'll drag you out of here by your hair, so you'll be bald by the time I'm done." She threatened, Beastboy turned to face her with wide eyes filled with horror.

"No! not the hair! Anything but the hair Raven! What will I do without my 'do'? I won't get ladies without it!" He whined in an exasperated tone, shielding his precious hair with his hands as if that would stop Raven's wrath.

"Well then you won't have to worry about that if you make it to the training session." She informed him, turning towards the exit and walking away.

"I'll be there, geez I can't believe you threatened the 'do' that's evil Raven." Beastboy said, sulking as he turned to face Terra's statue again.

"I know." Raven replied with an almost smug tone, almost. She was almost out of earshot when she heard Beastboy's voice again.

"Hey Raven?" He called out, she stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around, likewise Beastboy didn't turn around either, their backs faced each other, Beastboy looking at Terra's statue and Raven looking at the light at the end of the underground tunnel which served as the exit.

"Yeah?" She called back. A smile was once again on Beastboy's face.

"Whatever my future holds, I hope you're a part of it always." He said to her. Raven said nothing just resumed her walk to the exit. Beastboy was beginning to think he had said something wrong when his pointy ears caught her reply, it was very faint and if his hearing wasn't better than a normal humans he would have never heard it.

"I hope so too." She had said before leaving. Beastboy's smile grew wider.

"Terra." He said out loud, addressing his petrified friend, "I think I'm growing pretty attached to someone and you'll never believe who it is."


	15. Cycle of Hatred 2

_And so one tale has concluded, but where one ends another begins. This tale however is quite different, for it never happened. It is why this next story was never told. It is merely what could have been. It is one that would have happened had a few select people allowed hatred and revenge to rule their hearts. And those who would suffer from their rash actions. We turn now, to a time when the Titans were finally moving on from losing one of their own. This tale will explore how hard that could have been.  
_

* * *

"Almost ready Cyborg?" Robin, leader of the Titans asked his bionic friend. Cyborg was busy fiddling with the obstacle course's console, the very same one they had Terra run a few months back, his human eye was narrowed in concentration.

"Yeah almost. Remember Robin, this is still in the prototype stage, there are still a few more things I need to add to the program before it's complete." Cyborg explained, Robin nodded at him, a grin on his face. Cyborg was attempting to create a holographic training program, one where the training dummies could have a certain villain projected onto them and through various programs provided by Cyborg, behave just like a real supervillain.

Well, in theory anyway.

The masked Titan was eager to try it out, even if it was in it's early stages. If Cyborg could complete this project, they could simulate actual battles. It would double their training progress!

"That's alright, I think a little beta test is in order." Robin responded to Cyborg, who shrugged.

"Just don't yell at me when the thing bugs out, this has been a lot of work." The bionic Titan mentioned. A large metal panel slid open on the ground in front of Robin, and from it rose a grey humanoid robot. The machine stood silently in place, waiting for instruction.

"I won't, I promise. I appreciate all your hard work." Robin complimented his metallic teammate, Cyborg grunted.

"Yeah you better! This hasn't been easy let me tell you." The bionic Titan replied, at that moment Starfire floated in from the Tower, landing at Robin's right side.

"Greetings friends! It is wonderful to see you on such a joyous day!" She exclaimed out loud, stretching her arms out, closing her eyes and smiling as the sun's rays warmed her. Robin turned to look at her, the grin on his face got a little wider.

"It is a nice day, glad I decided to have the training session out here." Robin agreed with his alien teammate, "Ready for some intense sparring Starfire?" She smiled at her best friend.

"Oh I am most ready Robin, on my planet, Tamaraneans are trained to be battle-ready at all times from when they are knorfkas to fully-grown barzmas." Starfire told him, Robin nodded, using context to decipher what she meant.

"Good to hear." He responded to his orange-skinned friend, he glanced around, looking for the final two members of his team. "Anyone see Raven and Beastboy?" He asked, Cyborg snorted and Starfire shook her head.

"I have not." The red-haired Titan answered.

"Raven's probably trying to send him to another dimension, probably one with giant oozing monsters with not a single piece of nasty tofu in sight." Cyborg theorized.

"I was tempted to at first." A familiar monotone said, the other Titans looked up to see Raven float gently down to the ground, she landed to Robin's left. "But then I realized with him gone, you'd try to rule over the kitchen like some crazed food tyrant." Robin had to cover his mouth with his left hand to keep a chuckle from coming out, Starfire was not as discreet and giggled at her dark friend's remark, Cyborg just glared.

"Hey! I never heard you complaining about my cooking little lady!" The bionic Titan boomed, Raven merely shrugged.

"That's because I don't have to worry about clogged arteries, at least not yet. If you had full reign in the kitchen however that might change." The cloaked Titan calmly responded, Cyborg continued to glare at her, pointing his right index finger at her.

"I'll remember this the next time I make my meat bonanza!" He declared.

"That's fine, herbal tea and toast never fail me." Raven replied indifferently, Robin cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"So where is Beastboy anyway?" He asked, directing the question at Raven.

"He'll be here, he's just clearing up a few loose ends." She answered him, the masked Titan lifted an eyebrow from behind his mask.

"Terra's statue?" He inquired, lips turning into a frown, Raven nodded.

"Yeah, I get the feeling this will be the last time though, I think he's finally ready to say goodbye." She informed him, Robin continued to frown for a few moments, but in the end he trusted Raven's judgement about the changeling. The masked Titan let out a sigh.

"Alright, he's still got ten minutes before the scheduled time anyway." Robin relented, Starfire was examining the grey robot in front of them.

"So this new training will improve our kicking of the butt?" Starfire questioned, the grin returned to Robin's face.

"That's what I'm hoping anyway." The masked Titan stated proudly.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the four Titans, a periscope was observing them just off the shore of their island. The periscope whirred as it zoomed in on the young superheroes. Just under the water's surface was a very well-built submarine. It was painted black and armed with the latest stealth technology. Inside the submarine itself was a handful of men, most dressed in military fatigues.

One of them stood out from the rest as he was taller and more muscular than them. He had medium-length brown hair with the bangs reaching just past his eyebrows. He wore a tight short-sleeved blackshirt with green military camoflauged pants and boots. Currently he was looking through the periscope.

"Are we ready to fire Lieutenant?" He asked a man who was hovering to his right.

"Yes we are sir." The lieutenant replied.

"Then do it." The big man replied, continuing to look through the periscope. Soon, very soon, he would finally have closure.

* * *

The only warning the Titans had was a sudden spray of water, Robin looked towards the shoreline to see a missile barreling down right on his team's position, he realized grimly that it was coming in too fast.

"Titans! M..." was as far as he got before the torpedo landed and exploded. Robin felt his body sail through the air. Sky and ground rotated across his vision before gravity finally made him crash back down to mother earth. He groaned as stars danced across his blurry vision, his ears were ringing and everything he heard seemed to sound like it was underwater, the masked Titan realized right away that he was shellshocked.

Currently he was resting on his back and with great effort, he managed to sit up. Catching sight of Starfire and Raven's prone forms in front of him. Too dizzy to stand up, Robin began crawling towards them, hoping they weren't dead. As he watched, two men in military fatigues each scooped up one of the girls and began carrying them away. Robin weakly reached out his right hand.

"W...wait!" He managed to get out, another man in military uniform noticed him, he turned and yelled something to someone out of Robin's field of vision. Moments later, a tall man with brown hair stepped in front of him. His green-eyed glare seemed to be trying to burn a hole through him.

"Get some extra people to help with the one with cybernetic implants." The green-eyed man barked out, still not breaking eye contact with Robin. "Time for you and your little friends to pay for what you've done Boy Wonder." The man said to him, raising his right boot high enough so that Robin could see the sole of it underneath. He was too weak to defend himself and the last thing he saw was the boot come crashing down on his head. Unconsciousness mercifully took him then.

* * *

**A/N: Apologies in advance if there is a Tamaranean vocabulary out there that I'm not aware of. I'm only going with a few words that I remember from the show atm. Anything else I'm sorta making up.**

**Thanks TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne for the review.  
**


	16. Cycle of Hatred 3

**A/N: Review response time.  
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**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: I've taken a few liberties with the submarine guy, his identity is revealed this chapter.  
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**Cruelistnightmare: I've updated!  
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**Emmagination: The mystery people are revealed somewhat in this chapter.  
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**Guest: Thanks whoever you are. Always try to keep the original Titans in character enough to where they feel familiar.  
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* * *

Terra.

She had been the source of much joy for him, and also much heartache. Now the rollercoaster ride that was their relationship was finally at it's end. It was time for him to move on.

"I'll try to visit as much as possible Terra, but I'm not gonna make any guarantees, I know you'd want me to live my life to the fullest and that's what I intend to do." Beastboy said to his petrified friend, he smiled at her. "We'll find a way to get you out of there some day. Hopefully by then I'll have grown as a person. A person you'd be proud of." And with that he turned so that his back was facing the statue and walked away. Ready to move on to the next chapter in his life.

Halfway to the exit he stopped as his nose picked up some unfamiliar scents. Beastboy's pointy ears also picked up the sound of multiple footsteps as well. With some quick-thinking the changeling morphed into a small green mouse and used the darkness of the enormous cavern to conceal himself. Moments later, a man walked in, big and muscular with medium-length brown hair and green eyes that almost seemed to glow. Judging from his pants and boots, Beastboy pegged him as military of some sort, but whose?

The green-eyed man scanned his surroundings looking for potential threats in the shadows, after a few moments his eyes found Terra's statue and he smiled.

"Ah, here she is." the big man stated, making his way to the statue, "I've been searching for you for a long time sister." at that last word, Beastboy's eyes widened in mouse form, he reverted back to normal form and stepped forward.

"Dude! you're Terra's brother?" He asked incredulously, Terra never told him that she had a brother, but then again, Terra didn't tell him a lot of things.

"Half-brother actually, but still flesh and blood." He turned to face the green Titan. "Before she stopped sending me emails, she talked a lot about a group of friends who took her in and gave her a home. One in particular with green skin and pointy ears." He sized up the changeling. "At first I thought she was joking, but now I see it was the truth, you must be Beastboy." The changeling was still in shock, from the revelation that Terra had a sibling and took a moment to answer.

"Uh, yes, that's my name. What's yours?" He asked tentatively.

"Brion, Brion Markov." He answered the green changeling, bowing respectfully. "Terra mentioned you a lot in the emails I received."

"Did she?" Beastboy inquired, curious. Brion turned back around to gaze at his petrified sister.

"Yes. how you had so much in common. How you always made her laugh and how she thought she finally found a place she could call home." Brion revealed, "It was a shock to me, since Terra never really could sit still. She was always such a tomboy." He smiled wistfully at the statue, "When we were little. I used to have a bunch of legos and would try to build things with them, castles, airplanes, stuff like that. And she'd always walk in and try to help me, but all she'd usually do is end up ruining my project. I used to get so annoyed with her back then..." Brion trailed off, letting his memories flow.

"Yeah that sounds like the Terra I know." Beastboy concurred, something wasn't right, his animal senses telling him something was off with Brion.

"She's grown since I saw her last." Brion observed, frowning. "But she was still so skinny, I don't see how, she used to eat so much. My poor sister, I don't even have a body to bury." He mourned, then suddenly turned around and fixed Beastboy with such a glare that the green Titan actually took a step backwards. "And you're the one to blame, Beastboy!" Terra's brother practically spat his name out in disgust. The changeling blinked a few times at his sudden one-eighty.

"What? Why is it my fault?" Beastboy asked him, Brion sneered.

"Pathetic, can't even hone up to your own sins!" Terra's half-brother snapped, "The last email I received from her was a few months ago, in it, she told me that you and your other worthless friends had betrayed and forsaken her!" Brion's words hit him like he'd been punched in the gut, the changeling's surprised look quickly turned into an angry one.

"You think I betrayed Terra?" Beastboy asked incredulously, he could feel his anger welling up inside him. "She betrayed us! Terra almost got my friends killed! But she redeemed herself in the end!"

"That's enough of your lies!" Brion suddenly shouted, "My sister wouldn't need to redeem herself to the likes of you!" The big man's lips were peeled back, his teeth clenched together in an effort to keep his rage in check. "Look at what you and your friends have done to her! Reduced to a fucking statue! Unforgivable!"

"Terra sacrificed herself to save the city!" Beastboy shouted back, "Maybe you should get all your facts straight dude before you start jumping to conclusions!" Brion closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself, when he reopened them the glare was still as intense as ever. Beastboy glared right back though, not backing down.

"I know enough, I know that my sister is lost to me and that you were involved in one way or another." He declared coldly, the green morphling growled in frustration.

"Get this through your thick skull dude, I saved your sister, I redeemed her." Beastboy replied angrily, jabbing his index finger at Brion for emphasis.

"Saved?" Brion said, his eyes narrowing slightly before swinging his left hand behind him to point at Terra's petrified form. "Does this look like she's been saved to you!? Does this look like redemption!?" His words stung the changeling.

"There was nothing else I could do." He answered Brion, Terra's brother shook his head.

"Pathetic, just pathetic, I'm done talking with you Beastboy. Now we must come to a decision on how to resolve all of this." The big man informed him.

"Oh I don't know, how about you calm down, we have some pizza at the diner, tell a few jokes and straighten this out like normal people do." The green Titan offered grumpily, Brion shook his head in response.

"No. That is nowhere near enough to atone for what you've done, I need something more." Brion replied, his gaze burrowing into Beastboy, "I need your life." The changeling raised an eyebrow in response.

"Sorry dude, I sort of need that to, you know, survive." Beastboy responded, his animal senses on high alert. He felt like Terra's angry brother was going to attack him at any moment.

"I'm afraid your options are limited Beastboy." Brion informed him, pulling out a short-range radio from his belt. "Bring them in." He said into the radio's speaker. The emerald Titan was confused, who was Brion bringing in? Several footsteps could be heard nearing their position. As Beastboy looked behind him to see who it was he discovered four men in green camouflage military uniforms.

The men each stood at the corner of a square platform made from what looked like steel. It was a good-sized platform about twelve feet in length. The platform had wheels that looked similar to a tanks, but smaller. The treads easily traversed the rocky ground, bringing itself closer to Brion and Beastboy. That wasn't what caught the changeling's attention though.

Standing in the center of the platform were his friends and teammates. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven were all trapped under a dome-shaped yellow-colored energy barrier. Beastboy was reminded of the time Atlas had kept them all trapped for use as 'Trophies' when Cyborg had to free them. Except this time, they were all trapped under one bubble and he was in Cyborg's place. Thankfully, they looked relatively unharmed. As Beastboy watched Robin stepped forward from the group, placing his hands on the barrier's wall.

"Beastboy! Don't worry about us! just get out of here and get help!" The masked Titan ordered. Before the changeling could begin to even form a protest on his lips he saw bolts of electricity shoot into the barrier from the bottom. The electricity danced around inside the barrier, zapping the four Titans with some high voltage. Beastboy was horrified to hear his friends' agonizing screams as they were electrocuted. Thankfully it stopped after a few short moments and his friends collapsed to their knees, breathing heavily and groaning in pain.

"Here's what I propose." Brion started, "You and I will duel to the death. Nothing less will satisfy my thirst for vengeance at losing my sister." He explained, "If you refuse, I'll just kill your friends here and now and make you watch. Have I made myself clear?" He finished, although there was a fiery glare in Brion's eyes, his tone was cold as ice.

Beastboy looked helplessly at his friends, who were still recovering from the electrocution they had received. He turned towards Brion, and as angry and intimidating as Terra's brother looked. Beastboy's glare was simply murderous. This was not the look of cheerful green Titan who told jokes. This was the look of a young man who just seen his friends get hurt right in front of him and he wanted someone to pay.

"You're making a terrible mistake." Beastboy snarled, quiet, but intense.


	17. Cycle of Hatred 4

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing this story. It has now reached 10k views and is my second most viewed work here.  
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**Review Responses  
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**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - Thanks! Yeah Brion is a little unhinged atm, we'll see how that changes as the story progresses.  
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**Phsycofangirl16 - My stories do tend to have people attacking Beastboy a lot don't they? He'll get a break at some point I swear! As for the dragon form, it's not something that he'll probably do again as it's really painful for him to morph into.  
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**cruelistnightmare - lol, this is the fastest I've probably updated, trying an approach of "Faster but shorter" chapters for this story, it seems to be popular so I will probably stick with it.  
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**blastburnman - This what-if story takes place in between season 2 and 3 timelinewise so Beastboy hasn't acquired "The Beast" yet. Still since it's a what-if story it might be possible. Thanks for the idea.  
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**Trymaster - I'll do my best.  
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* * *

"This is doing a number on my systems." Cyborg reported, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand.

"Friends, I am most distressed, why does Terra's brother wish to harm us so?" Starfire asked, Raven groaned as she got back to her feet, bracing herself with her left hand on the barrier's wall.

"He blames Beastboy for losing his sister. He's blinded by hatred." Raven answered her Tamaranean friend. The cloaked Titan mentally grumbled, as if Terra hadn't caused enough trouble, now her brother was here on some mad quest to kill her friend. Did craziness run in that family or something?

"In any case, it's in Beastboy's hands right now, this barrier looks just as solid as the one Atlas put us in." Robin told them, his eyes on the two duelists. Terra was living in a cave with barely any benefits of a civilized life when the Titans met her. Yet her brother seemed to have access to cutting edge technology and apparently well-trained soldiers, the masked Titan wanted to know why.

The Titans helplessly watched as Brion Markov moved away from his sister's petrified form. When he was about thirty feet from Beastboy the two began to slowly circle each other. Raven started to feel pangs of anxiety, but she ruthlessly pushed them down. Brion looked formidable, but Beastboy wasn't a slouch, he was quite resourceful as she had witnessed before. He would pull through again this time, he had to.

* * *

No words were said between Beastboy and Brion Markov. Both had discerned that discussion was getting them nowhere. There was only one way to solve things now.

Beastboy was picking his own brain, Brion being Terra's brother meant that he probably could move the earth like she could. He also had to take into account Brion's better physical shape than his sister. That could prove to be troublesome as well.

All Brion could think of was crushing the little green freak. He had broken his little sister's heart and set her on the path to destruction. She must have been so sad, frightened and lonely. Killing Beastboy would be the first step towards setting things right.

The two fighters stopped their slow circle of each other, each dropping into a fighting stance.

* * *

"I don't get it, why isn't BB just wasting him?" Cyborg asked.

"They are taking each other's measure, trying do figure out strengths and weaknesses." Robin answered.

"I have never seen our friend look so serious before." Starfire mentioned, holding her left bicep with her right hand as she continued to watch the two.

"I have." Raven said, "He knows we're depending on him." She mentally cursed the barrier for the umpteenth time for preventing her from helping.

* * *

"My soldier's were given strict orders not to interfere no matter what." Brion informed his opponent. "It's just you and me."

"Good, you won't have any excuse when I mop the floor with you." Beastboy replied.

The two descended into tense silence once more, it was so quiet that a pin could be heard if it was dropped. And then suddenly, almost as one, the two combatants charged at each other, each letting out an ear-deafening battlecry.

Both fighters reared their right fists back, Brion covered his right hand in rock, creating a massive fist made from stone. Beastboy morphed into an ape, when the two got in melee range, they brought their right fists forward at the same trajectory. Their fists clashed with each other, the force of their knuckles colliding was so great that it actually knocked them back. They landed about thirty feet opposite of one another, neither losing their footing.

Beastboy wasted no time, twisting his body and morphing into an ankylosaurus. He whipped the giant beast's hammer-like tail at the right side of Brion's face. The male geomancer quickly ducked under the swing. The changeling swiftly morphed back to his normal and more lighter form, spun around again and resumed his ankylosaurus form, this time aiming his tail at the right side of Brion's crouched body.

The enraged geomancer straightened his legs and jumped into the air. Leaping over the green Titan's tailswing. His eyes glowed yellow and he made a bowling motion with his right hand while in mid-air. A large man-sized boulder sped towards the green ankylosaurus. The dinosaur hastily morphed into a cheetah and dashed to it's left, barely getting out of the boulder's way.

Changing course, the cheetah ran towards it's airborne opponent, morphing into a wolf right before leaping at him. Brion felt the wolf's claws dig into his collarbone as he was knocked from the air. He fell to the ground hard on his back and grunted from the impact. The geomancer's hands were barely holding the green wolf's jaw of razor sharp teeth at bay.

Both fighter's strained, trying to use their strength to get the upper-hand. Finally, after a few moments Brion exerted himself, flinging the green wolf off him. The emerald-furred canine slammed into a wall to the left of the geomancer. It let out a yelp before falling to the ground.

Sensing he could end the fight, Brion extended his right hand which was glowing yellow with power. A few loose boulders just above the green wolf were pulled free, gravity did the rest and they began to fall towards Beastboy's downed form. The changeling managed to morph into a frog and leap away before the boulders could crush him.

As soon as his webbed feet touched the ground, Beastboy morphed into a mountain goat and surged forward. His sudden burst of speed surprised Brion, and his curled horns slammed full force into his chest, causing the geomancer to make an audible "Oof" sound. Surprisingly, the big man managed to stay on his feet, though the impact slid him across the ground a good eighteen feet.

Brion clutched his gut in pain, the changeling had hit him just below the sternum and had knocked the wind out of him. He had underestimated the little green man and was paying for it. Vengeance wouldn't be as simple as he thought. Beastboy returned to his normal form.

"Come on dude, we don't have to do this. Just let my friends go and you and I can go rounds all day." The changeling offered. The brown-haired Geomancer coughed a few times before answering.

"No." Brion hissed, "I want them to watch as I wring the life out of you with my bare hands. I want them to experience the pain of losing someone close to them right before their eyes." Beastboy shook his head in response.

"You're sick." He replied simply, Brion glared.

"I am merely a grieving brother seeking justice." The geomancer declared, the changeling sighed.

"Then you're looking for it in the wrong place, this won't get you anywhere." The green Titan told him, his face fierce with determination. He had to win to rescue his friends, failure was not an option.

"Shut up and fight coward!" Came Brion's response, Beastboy said nothing, merely morphing into a tiger as they prepared to continue their deadly brawl.


	18. Cycle of Hatred 5

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**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - The beast is a possibility!  
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* * *

Brion Markov glared at the green tiger before him. His sister's emails had informed him of Beastboy's morphing abilities, but she had failed to elaborate on just how fast he was with them. He was hard to predict, but that was okay, he had the advantage of terrain.

Beastboy in tiger form slowly circled to his right, gauging his opponent. His mastery over the Earth was definitely on par with Terra's. If he kept the pressure on though, the big man might falter.

"I'll have to compliment your morphing ability Beastboy, you have all manner of powerful creatures at your disposal." The geomancer's eyes began to glow yellow along with his hands. "But this entire cavern is under my command! I can turn the very battlefield against you!" As he said those words, Brion brought his hands forward and the ground underneath the green tiger started to come alive.

Beastboy quickly dove to his right just as a thick spike made of stone extended out of the ground he was just standing on. He changed course and made a beeline for the geomancer. Brion growled and gestured with his hands, the green tiger hopped to it's right to avoid another spike and then to it's left to avoid a second one. Frustrated, Brion slammed both his palms into the ground, creating a greater radius for his next spike.

Seeing this, the changeling exerted himself and dove forward, just barely leaping past a huge stonespike that would have ripped him in half had it connected. He was only a a mere fifteen feet from the geomancer now, gathering his feline legs from under him, the green tiger pounced, claws ready to rend Brion's flesh. Unfortunately, Terra's brother was able to react in time, creating a wall of stone right in front of him. Beastboy's claws ended up slashing harmlessly against the rockwall.

Brion smirked, he had him now. Using his geomantic powers, he slid the rockwall forward, intending to smash it into the green tiger's face. As it slid forward, the green tiger became a small green monkey. The small primate leapt on top of the rockwall and dove for the geomancer's face. This time, Brion was unable to react fast enough as the monkey latched onto his head.

"Get off!" Terra's angry brother growled as he tried to pry the annoying green monkey off his head. Eventually his left hand found purchase, gripping the small primate by it's back and tossing him away. As the monkey was falling backwards, it morphed into a jade-colored elephant, digging it's hindlegs into the ground to kill it's backwards momentum.

Brion suddenly felt something wrap tightly around his neck, cutting off his air supply. He let out a choked gasp and clawed at the thing that was choking him, the green elephant's trunk. With a twist of it's head, the elephant lifted Brion into the air and then slammed him back down, hard. Cracks spidered across the ground where the geomancer impacted and he opened his mouth wide to let out a silent scream, as his air supply was still being cut off.

The emerald elephant let out a trumpeting roar and reared up on it's hindlegs. The large tusked animal then began to bring it's forelegs down on the prone geomancer. Seeing this, Brion desperately used his power to rip a pillar of rock out of the ground. He flung the pillar straight into the elephant's left flank.

Beastboy felt pain blossom on his left side as something heavy slammed into it. The force of the blow was so great he was unable to keep his hold on Brion's neck with his trunk in elephant form. The changeling fell over onto his right side and slid a few feet, dust shooting up all around him.

Now free from the trunk's grip, Brion quickly drew in a few lungfuls of precious air. He glared daggers at the downed elephant before resummoning his geomantic powers. A whole section of rock to the right of the geomancer was ripped off and flung at the changeling. The slab of stone was easily twice the size of the elephant, the tusked animal had barely got to it's feet when the stoneslab crashed into it's left flank, it continued it's course, slamming the poor elephant into the wall opposite of where it came from.

There was no time for Brion to admire his handiwork, as the slab of rock suddenly cracked down the middle. A moment later a giant green arm punched through the crack, shattering the giant stoneslab. A large emerald-furred sasquatch emerged from the hole in the wall, it roared angrily before grabbing a chunk of the stoneslab it just broke and flinging it at the brown-haired geomancer.

Brion extended his right hand and stopped the chunk of rock in mid-air with his powers, less than a foot in front of him. His lip curled into a sneer as he tossed the large piece of debris aside. The changeling was going to have to do better than throwing the very thing he had mastery over at him.

As soon as the chunk of rock cleared his vision, Brion realized that something was missing. Namely, the large green sasquatch that was there a moment before. Desperately the geomancer looked around for a sign of the changeling. Where the hell could he have gone? He got his answer a moment later, when he heard the sound of something breaking through the ground just under him.

A small green mole burst through a hole in the ground, it caught sight of the angry geomancer's surprised face. Beastboy smiled inwardly before morphing from a mole to an ape, delivering a nasty uppercut with his right hand that connected beautifully with Brion's jaw and sent him straight up into the air. Not wasting anytime, the changeling morphed into a kangaroo and leapt up, matching Brion's altitude.

The geomancer was still reeling from the uppercut, his body hanging in mid-air and parallel to the ground. The green kangaroo shifted into a green ape once more and slammed it's left fist into Brion's face as hard as it could. Terra's brother crashed back down to the ground spine-first, his impact was so strong he actually bounced back up to Beastboy. The green Titan let fly with his right fist this time, smashing it into Brion's sternum.

Again the angry geomancer crashed back down to the ground, this time he embedded slightly into it, cracks spidering across the ground all around him. He grunted in pain and coughed, a few drops of blood spraying out with his saliva as he did so. Sensing that he could finish the fight, Beastboy clasped both hands together and raised them above his head, letting gravity bring him back down.

* * *

"Boo yah! he's got him!" Cyborg cheered.

"I got to say Beastboy really knows how to dig deep." Robin complimented, Starfire was jumping up and down happily.

"Glorious! We are saved!" The tamaranean princess exclaimed. Raven remained silent, most of the time he was a goofy screw up, but when it mattered most, Beastboy really could put on an admirable performance. She chided herself for being so worried.

* * *

Beastboy could feel it, victory was close at hand. All he had to do was smash his fists into Brion's motionless form one more time and the geomancer should be down for the count. He brought his hands down as hard as he could, feeling the earth give beneath him as his attack formed a crater in the ground and threw a huge cloud of dust into the air. When the dust settled however, the green Titan discovered that he had hit nothing but the ground.

The second thing that the changeling noticed was that his nose was picking up the smell of something burning. Beastboy quickly noticed two trails of fire in the crater leading away from him, the twin trails led about thirty feet away before stopping abruptly. The jade Titan noticed movement in the air and looked up to see Brion hovering in mid-air just above where the twin trails of fire ended. Small red and orange flames were jutting out from the bottom of his boots, keeping him airborne. If Beastboy wasn't seeing it with his own eyes he wouldn't have believed it.

"Unlike my sister, moving the earth isn't my only power!" He boasted before bringing his hands forward and firing an intense blast of fire at the changeling. The emerald Titan was caught completely off-guard and the blast hit him square in the chest. Beastboy let out a short scream of pain as the blast knocked him backwards, he tumbled through the air, bouncing two times on the ground before coming to a stop about sixty feet away from the crazed geomancer.

Beastboy groaned in agony as he rolled around on the ground. The right side of his chest, his right shoulder and right arm were throbbing in pain. He grit his teeth and worked feverishly to compartmentalize the pain he was feeling. He couldn't afford to be immobilized for too long.

Brion meanwhile had landed back down on the ground, collapsing to his knees, his left arm wrapping around his torso. His ribs were definitely bruised, some might even be cracked. Now that the changeling was down he had a few moments to catch his breath. Then he'd finish what he started.

* * *

The Titans looked on in horror at what they'd just seen, Beastboy taking a direct hit with a blast of fire. Currently they were watching their green teammate roll around on the ground in a fetal position, his teeth clenched tightly as he tried to cope with the pain.

"He can use fire too!? Isn't that a little unfair!?" Cyborg exclaimed, Robin snarled and punched the barrier wall in frustration.

"That might not be his only trick, he may have a few more up his sleeve." The Titans leader grimly informed his team. Starfire attempted to use her eyebeams to try and cut through the barrier, but it was in vain. Just like before their amber prison was solid.

"On your feet Beastboy!" Raven shouted angrily, "You're not going to beat him lying down!" Starfire frowned at her cloaked friend's harshness and turned to scold her, but she stopped dead when she caught sight of Raven's face.

The dark Titan's eyes weren't narrowed in an angry glare, they were wide and full of fear. Starfire quickly understood that Raven was actually really scared for Beastboy. Afraid that his life was in danger.

"Thanks for the hint Raven." Beastboy hissed out, getting to his hands and knees, "Never would have thought of it on my own."

"Well if you thought of it why aren't you on your feet right now?" Raven demanded, Beastboy turned to glare at his violet-haired friend.

"I'd like to see you try to get up after being blasted in the face with fire!" He snapped at her.

"That wouldn't happen. I'd protect myself with my powers." The dark Titan replied.

"Yeah? Well I'll make sure to pull a dark energy barrier out of my ass the next time it happens." The changeling said sarcastically. Brion took this time to get to his feet.

"I'd hate to interrupt your little lover's quarrel." The geomancer spoke up, drawing glares from both Raven and Beastboy from his remark. "But I'd like to wrap this up." Brion summoned up two baseball-sized fireballs in his hands, his eyes glowing bright yellow as he glared at the changeling. "It's time for you to pay for your sins Beastboy."


	19. Cycle of Hatred 6

**Review Responses  
**

**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - Yeah Beastboy is in dire straits, time for him to dig deep.  
**

**Hairul The Nightrage Beast - Too bad Beastboy couldn't pull a Ryu from Street Fighter and Hadoken his way to victory eh?  
**

**Guest - I like your idea, though I'm not sure how strong I am at monologues, worth a try in the future though! Thanks!  
**

**cruelistnightmare - glad my story is keeping you entertained, Raven is being kind of mean to Beastboy atm because she is really scared for him. Brion is a dangerous opponent.  
**

* * *

Sins?

Beastboy rolled the word around in his head. Just what were his sins anyway? How did it come down to this? Terra, his friend, and somehow Brion, her brother, wanted him dead. He continued his self-examination as Brion tossed the two fireballs in his hands at him.

As the changeling rolled to his left, the two fireballs whizzing by him on his right side. He recalled when he told Terra that she didn't have any friends, his words drove Terra firmly into Slade's camp and set into motion the events that would lead to her becoming a statue. That was one of his sins, was there more? And what of Terra's sin? Her betrayal was what sparked him to say those harmful words to her. It was all such a vicious cycle.

Slowly, Beastboy rose to his feet, preparing himself to continue the battle. He noticed Terra's brother smirking at him for some unknown reason and that's when his animal instincts went wild. The green Titan failed to react in time however and pain exploded from his left leg, he cried out and fell onto his right knee, using his hands on the ground to brace himself. He turned his head around to be greeted by the sight of the two fireballs he had just dodged.

They were now larger, each one comparable in size to the T-car and they were raining smaller fireballs down on him. The first one had caught him in his left leg, but now more were coming down. The changeling maneuvered himself into a crouching position and pushed off the ground with his hands and feet, the barrage of fireballs exploding around the position he had just occupied. He felt his leg protest from his actions and with a quick examination he saw that his left leg was bleeding pretty bad.

Beastboy couldn't help but wonder if he was really the good guy in this fight. If he would have said something different, if he would have acted different, then maybe Terra wouldn't be in her petrified state right now. From Brion's actions, he seemed to love his sister very much. So then why were the hairs on his arm still standing on end? Why didn't he feel more empathy towards Brion?

An angry howl from the male geomancer stirred the green superhero from his thoughts. He looked up just in time to see Brion leaping at him, his right fist reared back, ready to hit him. The male geomancer aimed for the left side of Beastboy's face, but the changeling ducked under the swing. The jade Titan quickly morphed into a kangaroo and slammed his feet right into Brion's ribs. Terra's brother made an audible cough as he fell back down to the ground, shooting up a small dust cloud as he hit it.

Everyone had sins, that's the thought that passed through Beastboy's mind as he reverted back to his normal form in mid-air, performing a backwards somersault to slow his descent. So what was Brion's sin? That was the train of thought that was really bothering him. There was a small nugget of information at the edge of his mind, a thought that held the answers he was seeking, but he just couldn't reach it for some reason.

Pain blossomed through Beastboy's left leg as he landed. The changeling clenched his teeth to keep from screaming and collapsed onto his right side, clutching his bleeding left leg. After a few moments he slowly, awkwardly rose to his feet, resting most of his weight on his right leg. The sound of fire crackling drew his attention, and he looked up from examining his injuries to see Brion holding both his hands forward, wreathed in flame.

"This is for you sister!" He shouted and fired a thick blast of fire from the palms of his hands. With his wounded leg, Beastboy couldn't dodge and so he did the only thing he could and brought his arms in front of him to take the brunt of the blast. The fire hit him like a truck, knocking him off his feet and hurtling him at the barrier that was holding his teammates at breakneck speed.

Beastboy grunted as he slammed into the barrier wall, it gave a little, absorbing his impact and he slumped weakly against it, standing on wobbly legs. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry. Yet all he could think of was the outcome of this battle, would his death help Brion? Sate his lust for vengeance? Or would he find another excuse to attack his friends?

Excuses.

That word lingered in the changeling's mind. Was Brion making excuses for his rage? Trying to place blame on other things in order to divert his guilt? It was possible.

"Move Beastboy! You have to move!" He dimly heard Raven say from directly behind him, now so close he could touch her, with the exception of the barrier separating them. His dark friend had her hands pressed against the barrier wall just behind his left shoulder and he could see the panic and fear in her eyes. He turned his attention back to where he had last seen Brion only to be greeted with two more vehicle-sized fireballs in the air in front of him.

"Die." The male geomancer hissed and gestured with his right hand, the large fireballs began spitting out their smaller cousins, this time Beastboy had nothing left to defend himself and he took all the fiery projectiles head-on. The pain was immense and he roared in agony, but it was drowned out by the sound of multiple tiny fireballs exploding on or around him. The fireballs had caused quite a great deal of smoke to envelop the changeling and the barrier he was leaning against, obscuring both Brion's and The Titan's vision of the green superhero.

When the smoke did clear after a few moments Beastboy's friends were horrified at what they saw. The entire section of the barrier wall in front of them was scorched almost black from the score marks the fireballs had made. The changeling himself was still leaning against the wall, his head was lowered and his left arm was outstretched against the barrier to brace himself. His right arm hung limply at his side and his legs looked like they were going to give out any second, smoke was still rising from his body and the upper torso plus part of the sleeves of his costume was completely destroyed from Brion's attack. Exposing his burnt chest and arms. Brion began walking towards the barely-conscious changeling, his eyebrows raising as he examined his handiwork.

"Still alive?" He remarked, "You're more resilient than I thought." Beastboy's only response was to cough, a few drops of blood escaping from his battered lips. Brion started to approach the heavily wounded changeling, fire surrounding his right fist. When he was about nine feet from the green Titan a voice stopped him.

"Please." Raven pleaded, "Please don't kill him." The other Titans stared at their cloaked friend in shock, they had never seen Raven plead like this. Brion glared at the dark girl.

"He was directly responsible for what my sister became! His blood must flow for justice to be served!" He yelled at her. At the mention of the word "Responsible" Beastboy stirred.

Responsibility.

An epiphany reached the green Titan's brain.

Responsibility. The word rang in his head once more. It was the responsibility of an older sibling to look out for a younger one. So then, why hadn't Brion looked out for Terra? Where had he been all this time?

"Where...were you...?" Beastboy managed to croak out, Brion turned his attention back to him, glaring at the green superhero.

"What?" he hissed, the changeling coughed a few more times.

"Terra was...alone...frightened, scared, cold and hungry... she had no home and no friends when we found her." Beastboy stated, he found his strength returning as his fury built. "So if you were the big caring older brother that you're trying to make yourself out to be..." at this point Beastboy raised his head so that he could glare at Brion and what the male geomancer saw caused him to take an involuntary step backwards, for the changeling's eyes were glowing white and pupil-less. "...THEN WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?" He roared, suddenly surging forward and delivering a devastating right hook to Brion's jaw.

The blow was so strong it sent the male geomancer flying a good forty feet before he hit the ground, bounced, then landed hard on his spine. He groaned in pain as he started to rise. Suddenly, Brion felt a sudden weight push him back down on his back, fingers wrapped around his throat and began choking him. He looked up to see a burnt and very angry Beastboy straddling him.

"You got a big fancy submarine and all these troops at your disposal, but you couldn't lift one finger to help YOUR OWN SISTER!?" He shouted in Brion's face before smashing his right fist into the geomancer's nose, breaking it. In desperation, Brion counterattacked by summoning a nearby boulder and smashing it into the changeling's right side, knocking the green Titan off of him.

Brion rose quickly to his feet and backed away to get some distance. The boulder he had thrown had collapsed on top of the changeling, but to his disbelief, he saw Beastboy lift the boulder off of him. The green superhero raised the boulder above him before roaring in rage and flinging it at Brion. All of Beastboy's previous pain was forgotten, anger fueled his every move.

The boulder was coming in at such great velocity that the geomancer couldn't stop it completely with his powers. He extended his hands and caught the giant chunk of rock which then shattered. Brion could only watch as the sole of Beastboy's boot filled up his vision and then he was flying backwards yet again. He landed hard on his left shoulder this time before tumbling a few feet. The geomancer was now much slower getting up, holding his left shoulder with his right hand as he rose to his knees. Beastboy was walking towards him at a brisk pace, his fists clenched tight and his eyes glowing the color of ivory, his lips were peeled back in a fierce snarl.

"Do you have any idea what your sister went through? What she ENDURED at the hands of a masked maniac? And you only show up now? MONTHS later!?" Beastboy roared, his voice was beginning to distort and when he growled it sounded more animal than human. "What kind of fucking brother are you?!"

"Shut up!" Brion yelled back, the changeling was in melee range so he took a swing at him with his right hand, but Beastboy merely sidestepped to his right, ending up near the geomancer's left side. The jade Titan delivered a nasty field goal kick to Brion's ribcage, sending him high into the air.

Brion grunted in pain from the kick as he fell back down to the earth, further injuring his left shoulder as he smashed into the ground, ending up on his back. The geomancer managed to prop himself up with his right elbow just in time to see Beastboy charging at him. The green superhero's glowing white pupil-less eyes were promising more suffering for him and was it his imagination or was the short green man...growing?

The geomancer braced himself, things were definitely bad, but he had one more trick up his sleeve...


	20. Cycle of Hatred 7

**A/N: This one took a little longer to finish as my free time has been diminished. **

_**Review**** Responses**_

**blastburnman - You'll find out what's happening to Beastboy in this chapter, but further morphing into imaginary creatures is a possibility for future stories. **

**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - Yeah Brion is pretty self-righteous, his arrogance is blinding him to some truths, hopefully he can realize it before it's too late.**

**cruelistnightmare - Thanks! This story has been fun to write and I'm glad it's entertaining for you as well, hopefully your friends will enjoy it too.**

**SimaLing - Yeah I know geomancers manipulate earth. Brion was originally using only his earth powers so I was worried I might confuse some people if I put pyromancer, but I suppose I may have just increased the confusion. I've changed that this chapter so hopefully there'll be less confusion, apologies for that.**

**Moonshadow1456 - Glad you like it.**

* * *

As Beastboy came charging at Brion, the pyromantic geomancer extended his right hand. The changeling suddenly found himself face-first in the dirt, an invisible force weighing him down.

"Gravity is also at my command!" Brion informed him, he closed his right hand into a fist and Beastboy felt the invisible weight leave him, only to be quickly replaced by the visible weight of several boulders. The green Titan found himself buried under a few tons of solid rock.

Brion grinned at his handiwork, that should buy him some time to get his bearings. The changeling's suddenly furious assault had left him reeling and he desperately needed some breathing room. The sound of the pile of rock moving drew his attention and he stared in disbelief, there was no way he was already getting out of that, no way!

Despite the geomantic pyromancer's protests, the pile of rock was suddenly upheaved and scattered to the four corners of the large cavern as Beastboy threw them off him, his legs spread and his arms fully extended on each side of him. His white pupil-less glare was still fixed on Brion.

"Answer my question Brion!" The morphling shouted, "Where were you!?" Beastboy demanded, slamming his fists into the ground and creating a powerful shockwave that slid across the ground towards Brion. The geomancer dove to his right to avoid it, the shockwave continued for a few more feet, throwing up dust, dirt, rock and other debris in the air before it expired.

Excruciating pain suddenly shot through Beastboy's entire body and he howled in torment before collapsing to his hands and knees, resting his forehead against the ground as he continued to cry out. Brion was perplexed, he had not counterattacked yet, so why was the changeling in pain?

* * *

"Friends what is wrong with Beastboy?" Starfire inquired, her face full of concern. Robin's eyes narrowed as he tried to deduce what had caused Beastboy to collapse, but so far he was coming up with nothing. He turned to Raven.

"Any idea?" He inquired, Raven shook her head, not taking her eyes off the scene before her.

"I've never seen him do this." She answered her leader. Cyborg was busy typing into the console in his right forearm. He let out a frustrated growl.

"I can't do a scan on him because of this blasted barrier." The bionic Titan reported, Robin shook his head and slammed his right fist into the barrier wall. He couldn't stand feeling so helpless.

* * *

Seeing an opportunity, Brion shot a blast of fire out of his right palm at the pained changeling, scoring a direct hit on the back of his neck. Fire and dust exploded outward from the blast's impact, concealing Beastboy from everyone's prying eyes. Brion waited expectantly to see the green Titan's burnt corpse, the damned morphling got what he deserved.

The dust began to clear and instead of seeing a dead Beastboy, Brion was looking at two glowing orbs within the dissipating dust. These orbs belonged to a rather large humanoid, easily able to tower over the average human being. This humanoid was covered in green fur and it's upper torso was massive and rippling with muscle. Long pointy ears jutted from it's large skull and as it opened it's mouth, it revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth.

It then let out a spine-chilling howl.

Brion hesitated, was this really the changeling he was fighting moments ago? This thing in front of him was unlike any animal he had ever seen or heard of. It was less like an animal and more like...like a beast ready to slaughter anything in it's path. Terra's emails didn't mention anything about this.

No sooner had the green beast finished howling that it blurred out of sight. Brion had a second to wonder how such a large creature could move so fast when pain suddenly blossomed from his gut. His green eyes widened in surprise when the beast blurred back into sight right in front of his face, it's right fist buried in his gut. A moment later he was flying backwards at breakneck speed, slamming into the wall so hard he bounced off of it and landed face-first into the ground.

The geomantic pyromancer rose to his knees, coughing excessively. He was forced back into the ground however, when the large green beast landed on his back. It snarled at him before raising it's right hand, revealing it's sharp claws. Brion muttered a curse and used his geomancy to summon forth two pillars of rock from either side of him. The pillars moved like serpents as they tried to crash into the beast's flanks.

The green-furred creature was faster though and leapt from Brion's back, causing the stone pillars to crash into each other instead. It landed a good thirty feet in front of the geomancer, growling loudly. Brion growled himself and broke the pillars he had just summoned into three large boulders, each about six feet in diameter. He made a throwing motion with his left hand and one of the boulders shot forward like a bullet.

Nimbly, the green werebeast leapt to it's left to avoid the boulder. Brion smirked he was waiting for that, quickly using a throwing motion with his right hand, the second boulder shot forward and smashed into the beast's torso as it was in mid-air. The large green-furred creature fell back to the ground, this time landing on it's spine, it quickly rolled backwards, getting back on it's feet only moments after being hit.

Unfortunately, Brion was faster as he had already sent the third and final boulder at the beast. Landing right on top of the transformed Titan. The pyromantic geomancer let a smirk cross his lips until the beast blurred into sight on his right, well within striking distance.

Brion's face paled, the beast flashed it's canine teeth and lashed out with it's left hand.

To his credit, Brion was able to get up a wall of rock before the beast's swing made contact. It might as well not have been there though as the beast's claws sliced through the rock like butter, continuing on to rake four horizontal lines across the geomancer's chest. The force of the beast's swing was so strong it knocked Brion backwards. He landed on his shoulderblades and slid across the ground a good forty feet before being able to stop himself.

* * *

"Y'all seeing what I'm seeing? I mean it's not just me right?" Cyborg said incredulously.

"It is not, our friend has assumed a form I have never seen before." Starfire confirmed.

"Something's off about Beastboy, his fighting seems more wild." Robin thought out loud.

"This beast he has turned into seems to be running on instinct." Raven reported, "It seems like his rage triggered this transformation involuntarily."

"Well whatever it is he's kicking Terra's bro's butt now! Get'im BB!" Cyborg cheered, Starfire joined him. Robin and Raven however continued to look on grimly.

"I'm more worried about what happens after this battle." The masked Titan revealed, turning to look at Raven, "Can we snap him out of this?" Raven didn't answer right away, instead continuing to watch the battle in earnest.

"I don't know." She finally said, and the two of them lapsed into silence.

* * *

The beast was already dashing towards Brion as he got back to his feet. The big green creature was running on all fours and when it was about fifteen feet away it leapt into the air, it's right claw reared back and ready to rip him in half. Brion had other ideas however.

The geomantic pyromancer ducked under the beast's swing, forming up gauntlets made out of stone on his hands and forearms with his powers. Brion then turned to face his enemy, who's back was to him. Without even looking behind it, the beast whirled around, swinging it's left claw downwards in a vertical swipe. Brion sidestepped to his left, causing the claw to sink harmlessly into the stone ground. He then struck out with his left fist, hitting the green werebeast square in the jaw.

Brion's blow actually caused the big green-furred creature to flinch and he followed through by driving his right fist into the thing's sternum. The blow, enhanced by the stone gauntlets he was wearing, caused the beast to slide back a few feet. The pyromantic geomancer sought to go for three successful hits and brought his left hand around again in a vicious hook, aiming for the right side of the werebeast's face. The creature responded by turning it's face towards his left hand, opening it's mouth wide and lunging forward, biting down hard on his left forearm as it was in mid-swing.

The elder Markov screamed in pain as the beast's teeth shattered the stone covering his left arm and sunk into the flesh of his left forearm. He felt the bones crack as the feral monster yanked him off his feet by it's teeth and slammed him into the wall on his left. As the geomancer collapsed to the ground, he gripped his mangled left arm with his right hand, moving even a finger of his left hand sent jolts of pain through his body. This was bad.

Before Brion could even register how much pain he was in, the green werebeast delivered a field goal kick to his already injured ribs which bounced him off the wall yet again, this time with such force that he actually sailed over the feral beast's head to crash and tumble to it's right about a stone's throw away from the creature.

Air refused to get back in Brion's lungs as he struggled to his feet, with pure stubbornness he managed to get a few breaths. No sooner had the pyromancer got to his feet then the beast came flying towards him, the giant creature was tucked into a ball, spinning in a vertical motion rapidly. Brion had no time to react or dodge as the beast slammed into his torso and face with the force of a train, knocking him off his feet.

Despite the pain he was in, only one thought kept surfacing in the geomancer's mind. Was he going to fail? Was justice not going to prevail? Something heavy slammed into him between his shoulderblades and he found himself face-first into the hard rocky ground. How did it come to this? How did he let some little green man get the best of him?

Brion roared in defiance of his grim situation, pushing himself off the ground and into the air a good ten feet. He saw the beast, still tucked into a ball coming towards him from his right. The emerald-furred creature was going to pass under him with the speeds it was going and when it did, he was going to counterattack with everything he had.

Something happened though that threw a wrench in Brion's plans. Instead of passing under him, the beast dug it's claws into the ground, making deep grooves in the rocky ground, but managing to kill it's forward momentum completely. It then looked up at the pyromantic geomancer with it's feral white pupil-less eyes, which narrowed into slits. Brion mentally cursed, he was a sitting duck hanging in mid-air like he was. Hastily he erected some armor made of stone around his torso, just in time too as the feral creature was making it's move.

The beast tucked it's legs under it and jumped straight up, slamming it's right knee into Brion's midsection. The pyromancer let out a gurgling cough and a small volume of blood escaped between his lips. In the next moment, the beast slammed both of it's fists into his spine, sending him crashing back down to earth. He hit the ground and bounced slightly, before being forced back down when the werebeast landed on his back. The rock armor he had on began to form cracks and he let out a scream of torment, some of his ribs were surely broken now.

Beastboy's mind had checked out, nothing was driving him at the moment but pure instinct. All that was going through the beast's mind at this point was a burning desire to tear to pieces the man that was currently under his feet. He readied his right hand, ready to drive his claws into the back of the brown-haired man's skull when a voice rang out.

"Beastboy! Don't!" Robin shouted.

The beast hesitated, hearing it's friend's voice and with that hesitation Brion saw opportunity. Using his powers, he quickly remolded the rock armor covering his torso into a thick spike of stone, which he impaled the beast with through it's abdomen. The creature's eyes widened in shock as the spike pierced it's abdomen and burst through it's back, just above the right hip bone.

"NO!" Raven cried out, horrified in seeing her green friend impaled. With a great effort, the beast grabbed the spike with both hands and broke it, allowing the feral creature to leap backwards away from Brion. The geomantic pyromancer stayed prone, breathing heavily.

The werebeast pulled the rest of the spike out from it's abdomen, angrily tossing the object aside. It held it's right hand to the wound, though blood still trickled through it's fingers. The creature was also breathing heavily as it glared silently at it's enemy.

Both combatants were suffering from major injuries. They struggled to catch their breath and their limbs were growing heavy. The one thing that wasn't faltering however was the intensity in their glares, and the hatred so strong between them that it was almost palpable.

"Don't give me that look." Brion growled, "Even with nothing but your primal instincts driving you... your damn eyes still look upon me in judgement. You think I am the one who is mistaken, that I'm the one who has committed the great sin." The geomancer's eyes went wide. "Well you're wrong!"

The beast watched as Brion, slowly and shakily, rose to his feet, he stumbled more than once, but he never fell back down. Blood trickled from his lips and his left arm remained limp at his side, mangled and bloody. Still, his eyes were wide and bloodshot and he looked at the feral changeling with conviction.

"I have done no wrong Beastboy! And I will not... be... DEFEATED!" He roared, raising his right hand to the sky and drawing deeply from his power. The entire cavern began to shake violently, the beast's animal instincts were going haywire, danger was fast approaching.

Brion poured every last bit of energy into his powers, he concentrated on a whole section of the cavern behind him, using his geomancy and his pyromancy. He wanted one thing at that moment, to create something powerful enough to wipe the changeling and all his worthless friends off the face of the planet. He felt more than saw the gigantic ball of stone and fire he was creating behind him and he smiled in triumph.

* * *

"Oh I am wishing for us to be free now!" Starfire exclaimed with concern.

"Join the club, that thing Terra's brother is brewing up is huge! It could easily destroy this entire cavern and us along with it!" Cyborg reported.

"We have to get out of here!" Raven said urgently, noticing with alarm that the beast's wound was still bleeding heavily. "There's a chance Beastboy will bleed to death if we don't get him medical attention right away!"

"I'm aware of that." Robin announced, "If you got any ideas on how to break us free I'm all ears."

Unfortunately none of them had a solution, they could only watch helplessly as Brion's creation of stone and fire continued to grow.

* * *

"How do you like this Beastboy!? With my power of fire and earth I can literally create meteors! A fusion of fire and stone powerful enough to crush you, your miserable friends and this entire stinking cavern!" Brion boasted, the meteor behind him now large enough in size to compete with a small building.

The beast said nothing, instead rising to it's feet to stand defiantly in front of the enraged pyromantic geomancer. It knew it was hurt bad, but the creature also knew that it's friends were in danger as well and it would protect them to it's last breath.

"You think you can stand against this meteor!? Your naivety is pathetic! Fine then! let your last moments be filled with vain attempts at heroism!" Brion shouted, he brought his right hand forward and screamed. "YOU'RE FINISHED!"

And the giant meteor surged forward.


	21. Cycle of Hatred 8

**A/N: Short Chapter due to lack of free time. This story is getting near the end. Hope you've all enjoyed it.**

_**Review Responses**_

**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - Yeah Robin really screwed up there, to be fair though he didn't want to see Beastboy murder Brion, then he'd do a Robin thing and try to put him in jail. Still, he almost inadvertently caused Beastboy's death, something I'm sure Raven won't let slide.  
**

**Chloe - I love writing action scenes, but I always try to balance it out. If I do write a really long battle scene, I try to make sure that there is at least some development of plot by the end of a chapter. As I'm not sure how many people would just like to read pages full of fighting without the plot being advanced in some way.**

* * *

The giant meteor surged forward, promising destruction to any who stood in it's way, but still the beast stood defiantly in front of it. The emerald lycanthrope raised it's head and let out a deafening roar, saliva dropping from it's jaws. It then gathered it's legs under it and executed a leap so strong it left a small crater in the ground, diving straight for the meteor. The beast brought it's right hand forward, smashing it's fist against the giant rock, the clash flooded the entire cavern in white light. The four titans imprisoned in the yellow bubble were forced to shield their eyes as well as Brion's soldiers who were watching them.

Squinting his eyes to try to make out something in the bright light. Brion was searching for the inevitable destruction of the blasted changeling, but the light was too bright to barely see past his hand. He had no choice but to wait for it to dim. Shockwaves buffeted the geomancer, but he stood firm. He would not fall again until Beastboy was dead. Slowly, the light began to dim just enough so that Brion could see further in front of him and what he saw caused his eyes to widen.

The meteor, shattered into many pieces, flying in every direction, some whizzing by his still form. In the center of it the shadowy outline of the damned werebeast, it's right hand extended as it dived through the meteor's debris. Brion couldn't believe it, the beast had shattered his meteor with a punch! He felt his shoulders sag and his fighting spirit drain from him even as the creature closed the distance between them.

His most powerful move and this snarling beast had destroyed it, what was he going to do now? He had nothing left, nothing. All he could do was pray for a quick death and beg his sister's forgiveness in the afterlife.

The beast, once in melee range, reached forward with it's left claw and delivered a nasty vertical slash that tore four bloody red lines into Brion's chest. The force of the attack sent him onto his back where he slid across the ground, how far he wasn't sure as the light was still bright from his destroyed meteor, but it was a good amount of distance. Unconsciousness threatened to roll over him, but he stubbornly fought it.

Meanwhile the green werebeast, after hitting Brion, had collapsed face-first into the ground, it's massive form shrinking and changing until it was the familiar form of Beastboy again. The blinding light from the clash of beast and meteor had finally died down, leaving the two combatants lying broken and beaten.

Brion's soldiers looked on, unsure of what to do while the Titans could only look on horrified. Raven in particular was having a hard time, watching Beastboy's unmoving form. Anger began to swell inside her, anger for Terra and all the undue strife she seemed to be causing for them. Even as a damned statue they couldn't escape her problem-causing, even if it was indirectly.

After a long ten seconds, movement could be seen, it was from the changeling. Slowly the battered green Titan stood up, his right hand holding the bleeding wound in his abdomen. He began limping towards Brion's downed form. The pyromantic geomancer could do nothing, but watch helplessly as Beastboy got closer, every part of his body protested in pain if he tried to move.

Beastboy limped to Brion's left side, where he collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily, he took a few moments to try and catch his breath before reaching out with his left hand to grab the front remnants of the geomancer's shirt, pulling the elder Markov into an upright position.

"Yield." Beastboy quietly hissed, Brion glared at him defiantly and in response the changeling punched him hard in the face, causing blood to trickle down the left corner of the pyromancer's lips. "I SAID YIELD BRION!" The green Titan roared in his face. "YOU'VE LOST!"

Again Brion glared at him silently and Beastboy was preparing to hit him again, when finally the geomancer turned to his soldiers and nodded. The armed men immediately deactivated the barrier surrounding the other titans, who raced towards their friend. Beastboy threw Brion back to the ground and stood up, moving to greet his teammates, but he only made it a few steps before he collapsed back down to his knees. Eyes closed and teeth clenched as he tried to cope with the sudden wave of pain.

A cool sensation passed through Beastboy's torso and he felt some of the pain subside. Opening his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see Raven knelt down in front of him, her hands pressed against the wound in his abdomen. He smiled at his dark friend.

"I did it Raven..." He told her, she nodded in response.

"Never doubted you for a second, just take it easy now, this is a pretty bad wound." The cloaked girl replied, eyes focused intently on his wound and healing it. Robin, Cyborg and Starfire were standing in front of Brion's prone form.

"Out of respect for Terra, we will allow you to leave, but if you set foot here again Brion, it won't end well for you." Robin stated, the titans allowed the geomancer's men to haul him up and take him away.

"This isn't over Beastboy, you will pay for what you have done some day." Brion called out. Hearing this, Beastboy rose to his feet, much to Raven's protest, she wrapped her arms around his waist to help support his weight as he glared at Brion.

"You're trying to collect on a debt that isn't there dude, but if you really want your butt kicked again, you know where to find me." The changeling responded, the two continued to glare intensely at each other for a few more moments before Brion's men dragged him out of the cavern, leaving the titans to themselves.

"Well, glad that's over." Cyborg said out loud, Starfire shook her head.

"No I do not believe this is over yet." The Tamaranean disagreed.

"I know it isn't." Beastboy stated sincerely, Robin slammed his right fist into his left palm.

"In any case, we'll be ready next time if Brion tries something like this again. Right now though, lets get you patched up Beastboy, you went through hell here." The masked Titan stated. Despite his discomfort, the changeling smiled.

"Yeah dude, I feel like it. On the plus side, I bet all these wounds make me look bad ass right?" He inquired, Robin grinned and Cyborg pumped his fist.

"Hell yeah they do grass stain! You pulled out some amazing moves out there! I have to admit I'm almost jealous, almost." The bionic Titan admitted.

"You've definitely proven how tough you are Beastboy." Robin complimented, Raven rolled her eyes at their conversation.

"Boys." She said in her trademark monotone.

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**A/N: Epilogue next chapter.  
**


	22. Cycle of Hatred 9

**A/N: This is it. The final chapter of my second "Story Never Told." Apologies on taking awhile to get this out, I'll go into more detail on why at the end of this chapter.  
**

_**Review Responses**_

**TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne -Welllll I made this story a sort of "What if" scenario, In hindsight I probably should have made this a separate story, live and learn!  
**

**Yeah I've always had a soft spot for Beastboy because the guy isn't your typical 'Dashing good looks' guy in the animated series. He's short, has an odd skin color and lost his biological family, it's pretty tragic and I've always enjoyed his interactions with Raven. I really enjoyed 'Spellbound' and 'The Beast Within' but I guess maybe they didn't want to develop their relationship further since there was a romance already going on in the team? (Robin and Starfire.) I dunno.  
**

**cruelistnightmare - Thanks! I mostly focus on the middle of my stories, so sometimes the beginning and the finale don't feel as strong to me, but good to know that they are still entertaining!**

**iamking - glad you enjoyed it!**

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The setting sun cast a beautiful orange glow on the T-shaped tower. Seagulls sounded off happily as they flew over the bay, and the waves splashed gently on the shoreline of the island that Titan's tower resided in. Sitting on a rock was the changeling himself, he was currently skipping rocks across the water's surface, deep in thought.

Three weeks had passed since his brutal duel with Terra's brother, Brion Markov. Beastboy's injuries were healing, but he still had bandages wrapped around his torso under his usual uniform. He'd have to wear them for probably a few more weeks, which to the emerald morphling was quite a bummer. Changing bandages every day got old after awhile. He threw another rock into the water and watched it skip a bunch across the liquid's surface.

"Nine skips, impressive." Raven's voice said from behind him, causing the changeling to jump slightly. He turned and fixed his dark friend with a mild glare, her hood was down, so he could see her usual stoic expression.

"Can't you just say 'hello' for once when you greet someone Raven? Nearly jumped out of my skin there." Beastboy remarked, returning his gaze to the water. She stood a small distance behind him, blue cloak flowing gently in the breeze.

"In case you haven't noticed I'm a quiet person by nature." She informed him, her lips curling upward in a slight smile. "Besides where would the fun in that be?" The changeling shook his head, chuckling.

"You're evil." He told her, they lapsed into a few more moments of silence. Raven found herself studying the muscles work on Beastboy's shoulders as he threw another stone. Realizing what she was doing, the dark girl quickly blanked her thoughts and focused on the original reason she came here.

"Robin's been digging up as much information on Brion Markov as he can. Apparently he's a Regent of the kingdom of Markovia." The cloaked girl told him. "This explains how he has all those resources at his command, he could be trouble in the future."

"I know he will be. That man is not stable and I know he's still going to be gunning for me." The changeling let out an audible sigh, "Raven, I've been thinking about Terra." He confessed, Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" The cloaked Titan inquired.

"The entire time that we knew her, we never found out about her past, her childhood, we never even asked." Beastboy explained, Raven frowned.

"Beastboy, that's been an unwritten Titan rule that we don't have to reveal anything in our pasts that we don't want to." The dark girl replied.

"I know, but ever since Brion showed up I can't help but wonder what Terra's life must've been like before she met us." The green Titan let out a growl of frustration before continuing. "If Terra's brother is some big-time noble lord or whatever, then how come he abandoned her to live in a cave outside Jump City? Why do I get the feeling that I'm missing the whole picture? If I had a sister, I would never leave her out in the desert with nothing but the clothes on her back...!" Beastboy suddenly doubled over in pain, holding his sides. Raven was immediately at his side.

"Calm down, you'll reopen your wounds." She said quietly, moving so that they were face to face, her hands glowed blue with healing energy as she pressed them into his abdomen. The soothing energies felt good to the changeling, but he took one look at Raven's face, seeing the dark circles under her eyes and grabbed her hands with his own, causing her to stop.

"I'm alright." He stated. "You've done enough for me Raven, you'll collapse from exhaustion if you keep this up." The dark girl shook her head.

"I'm fine." She protested, but Beastboy looked her in the eye.

"No you're not." He said sincerely, "I'm a fast healer, I can endure a little discomfort, I promise."

The two Titans stayed like that for a long minute, Beastboy holding Raven's hands and with their eyes locked to one another. Raven didn't like seeing Beastboy in pain and in turn the changeling didn't want to see his cloaked friend overexert herself. A realization happened at that moment for the two superheroes, the realization of just how deep they cared for one another.

Raven quickly removed her hands from her green friend's and stood up, walking a few steps away and keeping her back to him. What was she thinking? She was getting dangerously close to the changeling and that simply could not happen. All that she would cause for Beastboy in the future would be more pain, thanks to her father.

"Raven..." Beastboy spoke softly. "You don't have to be afraid..." Raven shook her head.

"I-I can't Beastboy, it's...it's complicated, but I just can't." She started, Beastboy smiled.

"You've always been complicated Raven, but it's one of the reasons I like you so much." He told her.

"You shouldn't." Raven responded, Beastboy turned his head to look at her.

"But I still do." He said simply, Raven let out a tired sigh, taking a seat on Beastboy's rock. After a moment she leaned her back onto his, pressing her shoulderblades against his own. The setting sun basked Beastboy in bright orange light, while in contrast, Raven was covered in shadow. As the dark girl stared at the shadows that covered her form, she found it fitting.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should have ever joined the team, I would have saved you all so much trouble now and in the future." Raven stated sadly, Beastboy snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous, this place wouldn't be nearly as awesome without you." The changeling replied.

"I'm a monster Beastboy, don't try to convince me otherwise. You've been in my head and seen the demon that raged there." Raven said.

"You want to know what I see when I look at you Raven?" Beastboy gripped Raven's left hand with his right. "I see a girl who is more human than any of those other chicks out there." Raven lowered her head.

"You're just saying that." She responded softly, Beastboy's grip on her hand tightened.

"No I mean every word. No joke." He admitted. "You're a great person Raven, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Despite herself, the dark girl felt a smile tug at her lips from her green teammate's words. They stayed like that, leaning against each other's backs for a good five minutes.

"Why is it that you always seem to cheer me up when I'm feeling down?" Raven asked, she felt Beastboy's shoulders shift as he shrugged.

"Guess I got a knack for it." The green Titan answered, his face suddenly brightened. "Maybe it's the ears!" Raven's eyes narrowed.

"Very doubtful." She responded in her monotone. Beastboy smiled at this.

"There we go, you're back to normal again." The changeling stated proudly. "Look Raven, I won't pry about whatever it is that has you so concerned about the future, that's your business. Just know this, I won't abandon you. Never forget that." Raven wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, so she just voiced the feelings in her heart.

"Thank you." She told him sincerely. Another few moments of silence passed between them before Raven spoke again. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're probably thinking of going after Brion aren't you?"

"What gave me away?" Beastboy asked, his smile turning into a frown.

"For starters, the viciousness with which you fought him, what was that werewolf thing you transformed into anyway? I've never seen it before." Raven inquired, the changeling shook his head.

"I don't know, I was just so angry at Brion and then it just sort of happened." He answered, "Are you going to try and stop me from finding him?"

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least try and convince you not to?" She countered. "I don't think it's a good idea Beastboy, for one, you are still injured..." Her green teammate let out a frustrated growl.

"He threatened to kill my friends, to kill YOU. I'm not going to let that slide." The emerald-skinned Titan replied.

"He also almost killed you in that fight. If you fight him again it could be worse. I can't allow you to take that risk." Raven responded.

"So what? you want me to just wait here and let him make the first move again? That didn't work out so well for us." Beastboy argued.

"He caught us by surprise, it won't happen again." The dark girl promised.

"You can't guarantee that. Brion has too much to answer for and I intend to get those answers. One way or another." The jade Titan replied, balling his hands into fists, Raven could feel his body tense up through their physical contact. "I need to know Raven, I need to know why he did this and I need to stop him from hurting anyone else."

"If you really want to try and stop him then don't try to shoulder the entire burden alone. Robin fell into that trap with Slade, don't follow in his footsteps." The dark girl rose up from the rock and maneuvered behind the changeling, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing her chin on his left shoulder. "Let us help you." She finished simply, hugging him tightly.

Slowly, very slowly, Raven felt the tension leak out of Beastboy's body. Anger and hatred swirled within the changeling like a storm. Right now he wanted nothing more than to beat Terra's older brother into a pulp, but Raven's words had hammered through his haze of rage. He really was becoming obsessed with Brion, just like Robin had with Slade and that was something he did not want to do.

"Okay Raven, we'll do it your way." He relented, she gave him a gentle squeeze in thanks. The two Titans continued to watch the sunset in silence, each suspending their current concerns and worries and just admiring nature's beauty.

"It's beautiful." Raven commented softly. Beastboy smiled, gripping one of the cloaked Titan's forearms and giving it a subtle squeeze.

"It is." He agreed, and that is how the two remained until the sun disappeared below the horizon.

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**A/N: And so the second story ends. Thank you all for reading it and I hope it was entertaining for you to read.  
**

**Now for some bad news.**

**As far as writing new fics I think I'm done for awhile. I can feel the burnout setting in and I think this would be a good time to step back for a few months and recharge. I might finish "Unsealed Truths' as I have the plot of that story already planned out, but I'm definitely taking a few weeks off first. **

**Don't worry, I'll still be lurking about, reading stories here and there and I'm sure I'll be back in some form or another, but for now it's break time for me!**


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